Sustainability means different things to different people, depending on where they live and what they do, so context is king. In our work on sustainable foodscapes, we use the idea of a ‘double dividend’ to highlight the benefits of food policies that nourish people and the planet. One of the policies that we have researched around the world is school food policy. Originally introduced in the UK to combat hunger, school food policy is nowadays designed to promote the wellbeing of people and planet by providing nutritious meals to children in a manner that does no ecological harm to the environment (Morgan & Sonnino, 2008).

One of the best examples of a sustainable school food service is the City of Malmö in Sweden. Malmö adopted its Policy for Sustainable Development and Food in 2010 and it had two very clear goals: (i) that all public food served in Malmö should be certified organic by 2020 and (ii) that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from procured food should be reduced by 40 per cent from 2002 levels to 2020 (Malmö City, 2010).

To implement its policy, Malmö followed the SMART model of sustainability:

• Smaller amount of meat
• Minimise intake of junk food
• An increase in organic
• Right kind of meat and vegetables
• Transport efficient.

By 2020 Malmö had not quite met its goals, but it was well on its way: 70 per cent of all public food was certified organic and GHG emissions had been reduced by 30 per cent. These achievements have placed Malmö at the forefront of food sustainability both nationally and internationally (Morgan, 2024).

The policy has resulted in more sustainable meals for all Malmö residents, including the elderly and the young, in preschools, schools and care homes. The benefits of the double dividend are no longer confined to school meals.

But what can other cities and localities learn from the Malmö experience? Three important lessons stand out: the need for clear goals that can be monitored and evaluated; for continuous education and training of all staff involved in the process, particularly teachers and catering staff; and for continuous dialogue with private sector suppliers who supply the organic produce. Another key lesson for policymakers everywhere is that the City of Malmö used its power of purchase – its public procurement policy in other words – to stimulate the growth of the organic food industry in Sweden (Morgan, 2024).

One of the challenges that Malmö is trying to address now concerns the pedagogical meal. Policymakers in the City of Malmö believe that mealtimes can be used to provide students with knowledge about sustainable lifestyles. But they admit that the potential of the pedagogical meal remains an untapped resource. Looking ahead, the next phase of Malmö’s work on sustainable meals in schools will be to nurture stronger connections between the curriculum, teaching and food. One can imagine how a geography class could be enlivened by exploring a question like ‘Who feeds Malmö?’ Such a class could examine the links between the city and the multiple places near and far that help to keep Malmö well fed.

‘Many of the ideas being implemented at scale in Malmö and other Swedish cities have been applied in the UK for many years, but few people are aware of the fact. The Food for Life programme designed by the Soil Association has been operating in certain localities for over 20 years and is widely regarded as the gold standard in public sector catering circles in and beyond the UK.’

Many of the ideas being implemented at scale in Malmö and other Swedish cities have been applied in the UK for many years, but few people are aware of the fact. The Food for Life programme designed by the Soil Association has been operating in certain localities for over 20 years and is widely regarded as the gold standard in public sector catering circles in and beyond the UK. Food for Life promotes the whole school approach to school meals, which aims to align the educational messages of the classroom with the culinary messages in the dining room (Soil Association, 2003).

A unique opportunity now exists to spread the Food for Life programme because some parts of the UK – like Scotland, Wales and London boroughs for example – are rolling out universal free school meals to all primary schools. England needs to follow suit because this could be the most important social innovation in the UK since the founding of the welfare state in the 1940s (Morgan, 2024).

References

Malmö City. (2010). Policy for sustainable development and food.

Morgan, K., & Sonnino, R. (2008). The school food revolution. Routledge.

Morgan, K. (2024). Serving the public: The good food revolution in schools, hospitals and prisons. Manchester University Press.

Soil Association. (2003). Food for Life: Healthy, local, organic school meals.