Sustainable School Lunches: A Comparative Analysis of Lunch Quality in Primary Schools in Warsaw and Zagreb

Featured Application The proposed SMI-LE index can be used to plan healthier school lunches in line with the idea of a sustainable diet.Abstract The School Meal Index-Lunch Evaluation (SMI-LE) has been developed to assess school lunch quality. The aim of this study was to use the SMI-LE index for a comparative analysis of the quality of school meals planned in primary schools in Warsaw and Zagreb. The SMI-LE index was used to assess 4-week school meals in both cities. The collected menus were analyzed both in terms of overall quality as an average of points over 4 weeks and in terms of individual categories. According to the SMI-LE index, 4-week school lunches were rated on average 64 and 62 points out of a total of 140 points, in Warsaw and Zagreb, respectively. The majority of school lunches in Zagreb were classified as medium quality, while in Warsaw, over 50% were classified as good quality. Aspects that could be improved include an increase in vegetable availability and variety, limiting the meat dishes, and providing alternatives for children on vegetarian diets, as well as the ability to choose portion sizes. Polish schools need to change their approach to school meals. Following the example of schools in Zagreb, these could be one-course hot meals but with a wider range of raw vegetables and fruits. The current findings also highlight the importance of future research to develop standards for school food policies and investigate whether such a school food program could improve the eating habits and nutritional status of primary school children in the long term. Using the SMI-LE index to design new school meals could be a good solution to improve the quality of school meals.