Schools are critical settings for shaping children’s diets and eating habits. Most children spend many hours at school each day, making school food an important part of their daily nutrition. Schools offer an opportunity to provide children with nutritious foods they may not be receiving at home, helping to fight malnutrition, enhance their well-being and provide the fuel they need to learn and earn later in life.

Schools also offer an opportunity to protect children from unhealthy foods that contribute to malnutrition, educate them about healthy eating and help them foster healthier long-term habits. Policies and interventions—including providing nutritious school meals that rely on local, sustainable procurement, restricting the sale and marketing of ultra-processed products in and around schools, developing school nutrition guidelines and providing nutrition education—help ensure children are eating better at school and learning how and why to make healthier food choices.

Coming soon!

• 54 countries have a mandatory, national-level policy restricting the sale and marketing of unhealthy foods on school premises
• 36 countries have a mandatory, national-level policy restricting unhealthy foods served in school meals

Ready to join them by creating or strengthening an existing policy? Read the guide to adopting strong policies and measures for healthier school food environments, with links to practical tools and resources.

Learn from the experiences of countries and local jurisdictions that have successfully introduced policies or measures for healthier school food environments.