Quality School Lunch

Practices to Improve School Lunch Quality and Inclusion

Quality School Lunch

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PROGRAMME 2021-2027

priority

1 Innovative societies

objective

1.2 Responsive public services

Quality School Lunch

The project Quality School Lunch brings together schools, municipalities and food providers across Finland, Lithuania and Poland to create more inclusive and healthy school food environments that help all children, including those with special needs, enjoy balanced meals and participate equally in school life.

Project summary

The project addresses growing health disparities in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) focusing on children’s nutrition and inclusiveness in schools. Many children with special needs cannot enjoy balanced school meals, which impacts learning, well-being, and long-term health. Public schools in Finland, Lithuania, and Poland face similar challenges but differ in experience and approaches to inclusion. This transnational project builds on the proven Finnish Tasty School model, which integrates food literacy and school practices, to strengthen the capacity of municipalities—particularly in rural or socioeconomically challenged areas—to provide inclusive food environments. Through cross-country cooperation, focus groups, on-site visits, co-creation workshops and training, the project will adapt and harmonize the Tasty School model for the BSR. The main output will be a standardized, multilingual toolkit (EN, FI, PL, LT) offering schools and municipalities practical guidance to integrate food literacy into school practices. The toolkit will include training materials, tested practices, and pedagogical resources to support food literacy for diverse learners. By connecting schools, municipalities, and food service actors in the BSR, the project creates a network that fosters shared solutions, reduces fragmentation in public services, and improves policy uptake. Its outcomes will strengthen child well-being, health and equity, while enhancing the livability and resilience of BSR.

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details

Project type

Small Project
Implementation

July 2026 - June 2028
Status

Ongoing
Contribution to EUSBSR
- PA Health

Budgets

Quality School Lunch
in numbers.

0.50

Million

Total
0.40

Million

Erdf
0.00

Million

Norway

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