PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Food Policy and Economics
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1616375
This article is part of the Research TopicSustainable Food Procurement for Healthy Diets in Public and Private CanteensView all 4 articles
Beyond their nutritional value, school meal programs support agricultural and food transition towards sustainability by creating multi-sectoral values in France Authors
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
- 2INRAE, DIJON, France
- 3Organisation For Economic Co-Operation and Development, Paris, Île-de-France, France
- 4Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- 5Department of Global Health and Population, School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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The COVID pandemic has highlighted the essential role of school meal programs, not only for education but also for children's nutrition. In France, school meals are shaped by ambitious policies to ensure their safety and nutritional quality, while promoting sustainable eating practices and awareness of environmental and agricultural challenges. In this paper, we used the case study of France to discuss the multi-sectoral value of these programs.The economic value of school meals in France amounts to €8.2 billion annually, of which 2.8 billion are dedicated to food purchases. Since 2022, the EGAlim and Climate and Resilience laws require canteens to offer one vegetarian meal per week and to source at least 50% of sustainable products with positive environmental or social impacts (e.g., certified products, organic farming, short supply chains). These laws represent a potential support of €1.4 billion for more sustainable agriculture. School canteens also offer a unique opportunity for food education, allowing children to discover new types of food, notably with vegetarian menus.They can contribute to preventing childhood obesity by reducing exposure to ultra-processed foods. Additionally, they play an important role in social inclusion by providing subsidized meals for disadvantaged children. However, disparities in access to canteens persist due to the cost of meals, dietary restrictions or the presence of a parent at home.In conclusion, school meal programs in France generate significant multisectoral value in the areas of education, nutrition, agriculture and social inclusion and support the transition to more sustainable food systems for future generations.
Keywords: Public policies, Food education, nutrition, Vegetarian meals, Climate resilience, Economic value, Organic farming, Equity
Received: 22 Apr 2025; Accepted: 24 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Avallone, Nicklaus, Giner, Cohen and Verguet. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sylvie Avallone, Institut Agro, Montpellier, France
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