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Classroom Practice/Program

MS: How is the health of our Swedish youth today?
IH: The health of Swedish children of today is challenged. The children
don´t get enough exercise, and they have an unbalanced diet. This
has been proven in a report “Riksmaten ungdom” (“Eating Habits
Youth”) made by The Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket). An
unbalanced diet—short, for example, of vitamin D, iron, and essential
fatty acids, as well as whole grains and fiber—can result in children
having malnutrition. An increasingly unhealthy lifestyle is also
resulting in increased overweight and fatness. In this perspective, the
public meal—the school lunch, with nourishing and good food—is
even more important. There is also a distinct connection between ill
health and social vulnerability. The public meal, the school lunch,
ensures that children and youngsters during five days a week have the
chance to eat a good, well-prepared meal that is nourishing and thus
contributes to leveling out socioeconomic differences.
There is also, as I mentioned earlier, a connection between good
health and education. The healthier individuals a society has, the School lunch is a healthy and
longer their education … and the longer education, the healthier the educational experience in Swedish
lifestyle. schools.

MS: How are the school staff involved in the school lunches?
IH: During the last several years, school lunches are not only there to feed the pupils; the school lunches
also now focus on the fantastic possibility to create relationships among the pupils and among teachers
and pupils. Here, sitting at a table and having a meal, the teachers and pupils can have a relationship
other than in the classroom. Sharing a meal together gives a wonderful chance for the teachers to get to
know the pupils better and establish good relations that also can facilitate the learning process.
The school lunch could also be integrated into the pedagogical
work, as it could arouse the pupil’s curiosity for culture, ecology,
mathematics, and other subjects on the agenda of a school day.

MS: How are the school lunches in Skövde organized?
IH: The municipality of Skövde in the southern part of Sweden,
with about 57,000 inhabitants, serves about 10,000 lunches daily in
the 62 kitchens. Preschool children are served as well as pupils in
the compulsory schools, students in upper secondary schools, and
persons in elderly care. The section for meals has 180 employed
persons, of whom most are educated chefs who are passionate about
good food for their guests.
The food is prepared and based on unprocessed foods and as few
whole products and semi-finished products as possible. As high a
proportion of Swedish food as possible is being used in the cooking.
The children/students are being offered two different dishes daily,
one with animal protein and one with vegetarian protein. In addition
to this, a salad buffet is offered with 5 to 10 different kinds of very

Team members show pride in coarse vegetables, legumes, and cabbage vegetables. Also served are
programs that provide nutrition to whole grain cracker bread and low-fat milk. This goes for the price of
students. a little less than12 Swedish crowns (about $1 US in 2023).

Collegial Exchange · 35