The document discusses school lunches around the world and in the US, comparing their nutritional quality. It finds that lunches in countries like Italy, South Korea, and Brazil contain more fresh, wholesome foods like fish, vegetables, and rice, while US and UK lunches tend to be more processed and contain excess added sugars. It provides examples of typical lunches from different countries and analyses the sugar content of some common Australian children's lunches, finding most exceed WHO recommendations. The document advocates for litter-free, reusable lunchboxes to reduce waste and promote healthier, more environmentally-friendly options.

2. At the core of food security is access to healthy food and
optimal nutrition for all. Food access is closely linked to food
supply, so food security is dependent on a healthy and
sustainable food system.
The food system includes the production, processing,
distribution, marketing, acquisition, and consumption of
food.
Sustainable Food Systems
A healthy, sustainable food system is one that focuses on
Environmental Health, Economic Vitality, and Human Health
& Social Equity.
Environmental Health – ensures that food production and
procurement do not compromise the land, air, or water now
or for future generations.
Economic Vitality – ensures that the people who are
producing our food are able to earn a decent living wage
doing so. This ensures that producers can continue to
produce our food.
Human Health & Social Equity – ensures that particular
importance is placed on community development and the
health of the community, making sure that healthy foods
are available economically and physically to the community
and that people are able to access these foods in a dignified
manner.
Food Security means that all people at all times have
physical & economic access to adequate amounts of
nutritious, safe, and culturally appropriate foods, which
are produced in an environmentally sustainable and
socially just manner, and that people are able to make
informed decisions about their food choices.
Food Security also means that the people who produce
our food are able to earn a decent, living wage growing,
catching, producing, processing, transporting, retailing,
and serving food.

4. Food Security exists when:
All people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary
needs and food preference for an active and health life - FAO, 2005
Food Insecurity can mean:
Running out of food and not being able to buy more; Fear of running out of food causing anxiety and stress;
insufficient, low quality or unreliable food intake; Hunger when extreme.

5. 18 June 2012, Rome –
A new $3 million project that aims to
improve food security and nutrition of
women and young people in Egypt was
announced today by FAO. The project is
being financed by the government of Italy.
Unemployment rates for young people and
women in Egypt are estimated at around
25percent, much higher than the national
average of 10 percent. At the same time,
health surveys in Egypt have shown that
malnutrition is the root cause of over one
third of sicknesses affecting children under
the age of five.
The project aims to improve food and
nutrition security through higher food
production, nutrition education for women
and young people and capacity building to
strengthen national and decentralized
institutions.

6. Training on how to produce organic fertilizers, moreover, will allow households to avoid
purchasing expensive fertilizers.
Additional training will cover: food processing and preservation techniques; household
budgeting; record keeping; food marketing, microcredit and savings opportunities; improved
food preparation and consumption practices; and food safety and hygiene.
Nutrition education
The project will also have a nutrition education component. Nutrition education and
behaviour change communication plans will be developed together with local communities.
In order to reduce child malnutrition, these plans will promote food diversification, food
hygiene, family planning, breast feeding and complementary feeding practices. Radio dramas
and spots, videos and events will also be used to promote better nutrition education.
Community kitchens will offer women the opportunity to meet regularly and use knowledge
acquired to prepare healthy meals using fruits and vegetables produced in their
microgardens.
Training for government officials
National and local government staff and extension and community workers will be trained in
food production and nutrition so that they become familiar with nutrition and health issues,
approaches to nutrition improvement and knowledge of household food production methods.
FAO: (Food & Agricultural Organization of the UN) New food security and nutrition project for Egypt

8. About 32 million children in the US eat cafeteria school lunches every day.
As a nation with a childhood obesity epidemic, Sweetgreen —an organization that seeks to
battle childhood obesity and promote healthy eating habits for children—decided to take a
look at what these kids actually have for lunch at school.
The organization also takes a look at the school lunches that children from around the world
typically eat, to further examine where America falls in comparison.
Fish soup with tofu and rice, stir-fried pork with vegetables and baked chicken with stuffed
grape leaves... these are just some of the exotic lunches school children from around the
world tuck into.
The widely different meals from Spain, Ukraine, Greece, South Korea, Brazil, France, Finland
and Italy are all fresh and wholesome, with fish, steak and vegetables featuring prominently.
But in stark contrast, the UK and US lunch trays feature processed foods such as popcorn
chicken, frankfurters, cookies, and beans from a tin.

9. A meal of traditional flavours: Brazil's rice and black beans, baked plantain,
pork with peppers and coriander, green salad and a seeded roll.

10. In Finland lunch is mainly a vegetarian affair of pea soup, carrots, beetroot
salad, crusty roll and sweet pancake with berries to finish.

11. Brie, green beans, carrot, rare steak and pudding of kiwi fruit and apples is
served in French schools.

12. Greek school lunches feature baked chicken with orzo, stuffed grape leaves,
salad of cucumber and tomatoes, yogurt with pomegranate seeds and two
oranges.

13. Balanced diet:
Italian children get pasta, fish, two kinds of salad, rocket and caprese, a
bread roll and grapes.

14. South Korean children tuck into broccoli and peppers, fried rice with tofu,
fermented cabbage and fish soup.

15. Wholesome: Seeded roll, shrimp with brown rice, gazpacho and tri-colour
peppers. Dessert is half an orange.

16. Mashed potatoes with sausage, borscht, cabbage and syrniki (a dessert
pancake).

17. Unhealthy meal: Children in the US get fed popcorn chicken with ketchup, a
spoonful of mashed potato, green peas, a fruit cup and a giant chocolate
chip cookie for lunch.

18. Thins chips: 0.9 grams, Le Snack: 1 gram, Apricot bar: 6.7 grams, Yoplait
yoghurt: 7.7 grams, Nutella: 10.9 grams, 2 slices white bread: 3.5 grams.
= 30.7 grams, or 7.3 teaspoons of sugar
(*the World Health Organisation recommends no more than 3 teaspoons of added sugar for
children each day).
Typical Lunch 1

19. Choc chip biscuits: 8.7 grams, Chocolate milk: 16.3 grams, 1/2 orange: 4
grams, 2 slices white bread: 3.5 grams, Processed cheese stick: negligible,1
teaspoon Vegemite: negligible.
= 32.5 grams, or 7.7 teaspoons of sugar.*
(*the World Health Organisation recommends no more than 3 teaspoons of added sugar for
children each day).
Typical Lunch 2

20. Grapes: 16.3 grams, Muesli bar: 11.7 grams, Sakatas chicken: 0.4 grams,
Golden tropical popper drink: 24.9 grams, Bread roll: 4 grams, Slice of ham:
negligible, Slice of cheese: negligible.
= 57.3 grams, or 13.6 teaspoons of sugar.*
(*the World Health Organisation recommends no more than 3 teaspoons of added sugar for
children each day).
Typical Lunch 3

21. Kiwi fruit: 9 grams, Tomatoes: 1 gram, Sakatas: 0.4 grams, Carrot: 1 gram, ¼
avocado: negligible, 2 slices of cucumber: negligible, 2 eggs: negligible,
Water with lemon slices: negligible.
= 11.4 grams, or 2.7 teaspoons of sugar.*
(*the World Health Organisation recommends no more than 3 teaspoons of added sugar for
children each day).
Typical Lunch 4

22. “Packing a Healthy Lunchbox
Children need to eat a variety of foods everyday to be healthy.
Parents can give children a healthy school lunch that tastes great and is good for them too. Many parents
say one of the major problems with school lunches is when the children bring them home!
Try to give kids some choice about what they take for lunch, and if possible, get them involved with
preparing the ‘healthier’ foods.
Choosing food for a healthy lunch is easy!
What is a healthy school lunch?
A healthy lunchbox has four components:
1. A main item, such as a sandwich/wrap/roll, pasta with vegetables, soup, frittata or sushi.
2. A fruit or vegetable snack, such as whole fruit, cut up veggie sticks, canned fruit in natural juice,
a small salad
3. A second snack based on a core food, such as reduced fat yoghurt, grainy crackers with
reduced fat cheese, plain popcorn, a slice of raisin bread, a wholemeal fruit muffin, a boiled egg
or a can of tuna.
4. And a drink. A bottle of tap water is best, and plain UHT milk is also acceptable.”

23. 2 birds, 1 stone
“Much of the rubbish that we generate and send to landfill comes from the packaging on the food we buy, and lunch
foods are no exception.
In fact, it has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates three pieces of litter
per day, which equates to 30 kg of waste per year. This works out to be 15 tonnes of waste produced by a school of 500
students each year from lunch boxes alone!
Based around the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) - litter free lunches (also known as ‘nude food’) are lunches that contain
food items with no disposable packaging or single use items, such as pre-packaged foods, plastic bags, juice poppers,
bottled water, disposable utensils, plastic straws or food wrapped in cling wrap or foil.
Instead, all food is provided in reusable food and drink containers, so that there is no packaging to place into the bin and
the majority of the waste produced is organic (i.e. food scraps) which can be recycled via school compost bins and worm
farms.
Benefits of litter free school lunches include:
• students eating healthier lunches, as they are being provided with less pre-packaged 'gimmicky' snack foods
and more fresh food in appropriate amounts
• less waste being produced and sent to landfill
• cheaper lunches, as food items bought in bulk are less expensive than pre-packaged products
• a reduction in waste collection and disposal costs to the school, as less waste is being generated by the school
community
• providing students with a practical example of how simple behaviour change can easily address a widespread
environmental issue
• promotion of environmental stewardship and advocacy within the school
• a cleaner school; research has shown that less litter is dropped in areas free of litter compared to areas where
litter is more noticeable.”

29. • Cartoon Movement: 5415
• Food Security Network: Newfoundland and Labrador
• Gobsmacked! Our dietitian’s reaction to a typical Aussie lunchbox
• Kids’ lunches revealed: Foodbank WA warns of lunch box dangers
• Litter Free Lunches: Queensland Sustainable Schools
• Nutrition Australia: What's for Lunch?
• School Lunches Across the World: Dailymail