Children and young people spend most of their days at school, making it not just a place for learning, but also for eating and socialising. SchoolFood4Change (SF4C) combines all of these elements to have a positive long-term impact on school meals across the continent. The four-year EU-funded project sets out to redefine what it means to eat healthily and sustainably at school, while also addressing food education at several levels. SchoolFood4Change sees schools as catalysts for systemic and multi-actor change, including but not limited to school curricula. It involves training cooks, caterers and public procurers at city level and aims to create a true ripple effect, impacting up to two million citizens in the 12 participating EU countries.

In line with the EU’s Farm to Fork Strategy and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the project develops innovative solutions and tailored, locally adaptable good practices for schools, school meal providers, responsible public authorities and policymakers. To achieve the ambitious goal of enabling community-wide food system change, the 43 partners involved in SF4C – spearheaded by ICLEI Europe – follow a holistic multi-level approach: this entails the development of innovative and sustainable food procurement criteria and methods, the promotion of planetary health diets and cooking, and the introduction of a Whole School Food Approach. This is a defined framework for municipalities and schools that are aiming to create a holistic food culture and bring food to the heart of the school mission.