School food environments encompass every way children encounter food in or around school- from the meals on their plates and the messages on classroom walls to the snacks sold at kiosks and ads for sugary drinks just outside school gates. A truly healthy environment maximizes exposure to nutritious options and positive eating cues. Balancing nutritional adequacy, budget limits, environmental footprint and cultural acceptability is a complex puzzle for planners and implementers, and additional evidence is needed.
This webinar will showcase research from Sweden and Ghana where mathematical optimization models were leveraged to effectively integrate these multiple goals, creating a data-driven roadmap to healthier, more sustainable school food environments. The session will also highlight the Ministry of Education and Higher Education of Lebanon’s evolving experience and best practices in this area.
Welcome and Overview: The school food environment – data from the 2024 Global Survey of School Meals
- Arlene Mitchell, Executive Director, Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF)
Optimising school meals: Integrating food and nutrient standards with aspects of affordability, cultural acceptability, and environmental sustainability
- Patricia Eustachio Colombo, Postdoctoral Researcher, Karkolinska Institutet
Lebanon’s School Food Environments, Highlighting Evolving Experience, Challenges, and Best Practices
- Fadi Yarak, Director General of Education, Ministry of Education and Higher Education
Moderator
- Samuel Scott, Research Fellow, IFPRI