The campaign Buy Better Food started the petition at EU level 'A healthy meal for every child in every school in the EU'. (1)
The initiative invites citizens to urge policy makers to guarantee lunch for every student by choosing sustainable meals, thus helping to achieve the EU strategy Farm to Fork.
Healthy school meals
Not all schools EU offer meals to students. Yet, just like in low-income countries, ensuring a good lunch is a very effective tool for fighting poverty, improving school performance and children's health.
L'estensione moreover, a free meal would help to provide all educational establishments European guarantee for children, which wants to ensure that every child in the EU at risk of poverty has access to their most basic rights.
You don't study on an empty stomach
'A quarter of European children are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Fasting reduces their learning level, preventing them from leading a happy and healthy life. For this reason we must ensure that no European Community children are left behind, also considering that rising inflation is aggravating the number of children exposed to the risk of food poverty, worsening the situation.', remind the promoters of the petition.
Economic difficulties of families often lead to malnutrition, also in terms of unbalanced nutrition, with excessive consumption of ultra-processed industrial foods, harmful development as well as cause of obesity, which already threatens 1 out of 4 minors in Italy.
Good food at school
The appeal therefore calls for promoting healthy eating in schools, either providing sustainable meals, both guaranteeing students a nutritional education that also teaches the intrinsic value of food.
'The European Commission he told us on several occasions that it was time to inspire them with concrete ideas. The #SmallPlateBigImpact petition is about healthy school food for people and the planet and social justice.
Combined with nutrition education on healthy eating habits and local food culture, your support can make the change happen', remembers Peter Defranceschi of ICLEI, one of the members of Buy Better Food Coalition, inviting you to sign the petition.
Footnotes to the story
(1) See the petition 'A healthy meal for every child in every school in the EU'on avaaz.org https://secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/it/eu_kommissarin_fur_gesundheit_dr_stella_kyriakides_eu_eine_gesunde_mahlzeit_fur_jedes_kind_in_jeder_schule/
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
