School meal system is Finnish innovation to be proud of!

In 1948, Finland became the first country in the world to offer free-of-charge school meals. Today, only two countries in the world, Finland and Sweden, offer it to their children. In other countries, pupils eat a packed lunch or buy food at school. Excellent education and school meals have paved the way for many great Finnish success stories over the years, but where did it all begin? 

The roots of schooling and school meals go back – as far as 200 years – to a time when the ability to read and studying were rare even among adults in Finland. Some children had access to rudimentary teaching of reading in the form of parish catechetical meetings (kinkerit) and circulating school.  

Finland struggled with many problems typical of developing countries. A lifestyle based on agriculture required the contribution of the whole family, including children. Long school trips and school days with a meagre packed lunch did not encourage sending children to school. If one of the children had the privilege of attending school, it was often the eldest son of the family. Only a few girls were sent to school. The main reasons for not attending school were lack of food and clothing. This led to small-scale feeding of pupils and clothing aid already in some places. 

Primary schools became more common in Finland in the late 19th century. Augusta af Heurlin (1847–1918) was one of the great civic influencers of her time. She was convinced that the development of society would require educating the whole nation. Augusta had a simple idea to get children to school: primary school pupils would be served hot soup during the school day. This would improve children’s well-being at school and encourage parents to send their children to school. An association dedicated to this cause was founded under the lead of Augusta, and it started operations in 1905. Numerous women’s organisations set out to make the dream of school meals a reality. 

In 1913, state aid was granted for school meals for the first time. Pupils were more likely to get a serving of school soup in large cities than in the countryside. In the beginning, school meals were meant for the poor, but it soon became a goal to make it a benefit for all children. 

The first woman minister of Finland and long-standing Member of Parliament Miina Sillanpää introduced the first parliamentary motion to serve a daily meal to all school pupils when the Compulsory Education Act entered into force in 1921. The motion, however, did not go through due to financing problems. As municipalities were left in charge of providing school meals, most of them did not provide school meals. School kitchens built for rural schools often received potatoes, cereals and other food supplies as donations from the largest farmhouses in the villages. A study conducted in the 1930s showed that some children were malnourished and less than half of school pupils were perfectly healthy. 

Persistent work bore fruit later on. In 1943, an amendment was made to the Primary Schools Act, setting a five-year deadline for serving a free-of-charge school meals to all primary school pupils in the country. For this reason, the year 1948 is considered as the starting year of free-of-charge school meals. The aim was to improve the nutritional state of children. At many schools, the pupils picked, either in their free time or together with the class, for example lingonberries, blueberries and mushrooms to be used by the school kitchen. Until the 1960s, many schools had a potato harvesting holiday, the length of which varied from a few days to just over a week.  

In the 1950s and partly in the 1960s, the school meal consisted only of a main dish – soup, porridge and gruel. Milk and bread were brought from home. The menu included cabbage and meat soups, barley porridge and macaroni gruel. 

In the 1960s, bread was served at school, but milk still needed to be brought from home. Occasionally, there was sliced sausage to be put on top of the bread. Towards the end of the decade, some schools were already serving casseroles in addition to soups and porridges. 

In the 1970s, solid foods were already served at all schools – forks and knives were introduced alongside spoons. Menus quickly became more varied and new recipes were developed: minced liver patties and chicken fricassee were added to menus and served with root vegetable- and cabbage salads. People also started to speak about special diets. When the transition from primary schools to the comprehensive school system took place in 1972–1977, the right to free-of-charge school meals was extended to students in upper secondary schools and vocational schools. 

In the 1980s, the first international influences were seen. Among other things, pasta dishes became popular dishes. School pupils and students were already included in the menu development work in the form of surveys. 

In the 1990s, different food cultures were observed more extensively. During the early 1990s, veal in dill sauce was removed from the menus based on pupil and student feedback. Thanks to the public debate on vitamin A, liver dishes were also removed from the menus. In more and more places, school pupils and students were allowed to serve themselves. Themed days and weeks became part of the school meal system. 

At the beginning of the 2000s, school meals became part of the curriculum. The role of school kitchens was expanded to include the sale of breakfast and snacks in many places. At the same time, soda and candy vending machines began to be removed from schools. At that time, canteens became restaurants and school cooks became catering workers. With the introduction of the new multi-functional ovens, rubbery potatoes were no longer cooked at schools, but the legend stuck. 

In the 2010s, school meals were already a larger part of the schools’ teaching and education task. In the new curriculum, school meals were no longer just a part of pupil and student welfare but a part of teaching and education. In terms of raw materials, the focus shifted to sustainable gastronomy: climate-change wisdom began to emerge, for example, in the form of vegetarian food days. 

In the 2020s, vegetarian food is served on a daily basis and responsibility is also reflected in the school meal system. Food waste management and more climate-friendly raw materials can be seen on the menus, and attention to the carbon footprint is already paid in the food development phase.  

The aim of the school meal system is to support the growth and development of pupils and students and to promote their food know-how and ability to study, but also to provide an important and refreshing break in the middle of the school day.  

The school meal system aims to ensure good nutrition for the entire population and to promote health and well-being. Free-of-charge school meals have laid equal foundations for the growth and development of pupils and students and promoted healthy nutritional habits. One pupils eats more than 2,000 school meals while attending school, so the school meal system is a long-term investment in learning and well-being.  

School meals also have a significant impact in developing consumer skills and in environmental, cultural and equality education as well as teaching manners. The school meal system is a multidisciplinary learning module that integrates contents from several subjects and the objectives of food education at school. When parents have a positive take on school meals, it promotes the participation in and enjoyment of school meals by their children. 

The school meal is intended to cover about one-third of a school pupil’s daily energy needs. A regular meal rhythm and well-balanced diet play a key role in the healthy growth and development of a child and young person. A sufficient and well-balanced diet is formed by the main meals served at home and school, complemented by health-promoting snacks. The school meal system follows the national nutrition and food recommendations. 

School meal system is Finnish innovation to be proud of! 

Sources: 

Finnish National Agency for Education: Kouluruokailun historiaa 

ELO Foundation for the Promotion of Finnish Food Culture: Kauha kerrallaan kohti tasa-arvoa 

Ruokatutka: Kouluruokailu ennen, nyt ja tulevaisuudessa  

Eating and learning together – recommendations for school meals