Maria José Botelho: Finland sets example for nutrition in schools 

Published: 03-29-2023 6:39 PM

I greatly appreciate U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern’s recent bill, “Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn Act,” that will fund nutritious lunches to all children in U.S. public schools. I laud his efforts to end hunger and improve nutrition in the United States as this legislation will increase schools’ access to good food, support local farms, upgrade school kitchens, and the like.

Several years ago, I visited Finland to learn more about its literacy curriculum. I got to visit some of the most culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse comprehensive schools in Helsinki, and joined some of the children for lunch. In one school that serves kindergarten to grade 9 students, lunch time was a pedagogical practice that taught children about nutrition, good eating practices, and the environmental impact of food ways. Children first picked up melamine trays and then ceramic plates and stainless-steel flatware, glasses for low-fat milk, and paper napkins. They then served themselves. There were vegetables, soup (with a vegetarian option), cheese, bread, and apples. The hour-long mealtime allowed children, teachers, and administrators to mingle and eat together. It was a social event. Because children were using breakable plates and glasses it slowed them down during this period. After they finished their lunch, they were expected to bring their trays to an area and recycle leftover food in one bucket for compost, place flatware in another bucket, stack plates by size, and recycle napkins. No trash was generated.

Finland is the first country in the world to provide free lunches to its children. This practice began in 1948. Finland considers well-nourished children as “an investment in learning,” much like U.S. Rep. McGovern. School lunch time in Finland is an unhurried break with many lessons for children’s nutrition, community engagement, and stewardship of the Earth. This new bill has the potential to create a moment for U.S. school communities to assess what they eat, where they purchase their food, and how they eat. This assessment might require schools to reconsider hurried schedules, lunchroom design, and lunch menus as they reimagine lunch time to further nourish children’s bodies and communities and the Earth.

Maria JoséBotelho, professor of language, literacy & culture

University of Massachusetts Amherst

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