School meals are no longer just about feeding students. Today, they represent one of the most concrete meeting points between public health, ecological transition, education policies and the transformation of food systems. Every day, millions of meals served in schools directly affect agricultural supply chains, production models, energy consumption, food waste and nutritional quality. This is also where an increasingly important part of European sustainability strategies is taking shape.
In recent years, the international debate on food has gradually shifted from agricultural policies alone to the broader governance of food systems. In this context, school catering is emerging as one of the public tools most capable of generating environmental, social and economic impacts at both local and global level. The issue is no longer simply about making school meals “more sustainable”. It concerns the way cities, schools and public administrations can use procurement, food education and territorial governance to drive systemic change.
This is the perspective behind the international conference “It’s Time for a New Menu! How Healthy School Meals Can Transform Food Systems”, the final event of the European project SchoolFood4Change (SF4C), organised within Forum Compraverde Buygreen 2026. The conference represents both the outcome of years of international cooperation among cities, institutions, schools and experts, and a new political starting point on the strategic role of school meals in the ecological and social transition.
Through concrete experiences from several European countries, the discussion will explore results, challenges and future perspectives of school food policies, with a particular focus on the connection between education, sustainable public procurement and public health. The debate will also highlight the role of pioneering cities that have experimented with new food governance models by integrating environmental criteria, nutritional quality, social inclusion and support for local economies. The final session of the conference will broaden the discussion to European and international perspectives, focusing on how to make sustainable school food policies structural and scalable.
The event will take place within Forum Compraverde Buygreen 2026, scheduled in Rome on 27–28 May, and will also be available via live streaming.
To register and follow the event online: LINK
