THE SCHOOL MEAL PROJECT

A study in Norway was carried out in 2015 where a group of sixth graders were given FSM in a project called “The School Meal Project”. They were interviewed in 2015 and then in 2020 to recall their experience and what they gained from it. One particular benefit from this study is that universal FSM helps to create equality, if it was just given to poor students then that can generate stigma and bullying. In this study teachers were said to have noticed the “embarrassment of children with poor quality packed lunches”, and the students in this study valued the social equality aspect as highly as the food. Furthermore, it helps to improve the quality of diet.

Parents on low income buy stuff they know their kids will eat; if a kid tries something new at school it’s a free way of getting them to try new things, plus kids were influenced with eating with their friends and were more likely to try new things. Finally, students in this study said they had more energy, enhanced ability to concentrate and improved learning experiences (Illøkken et al., 2021).