Over 418 million children in at least 166 countries receive free or subsidized school meals at school, according to the School Meals Coalition. Canada remains one of the only members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)—and the only G7 country—without a national school food program. We, members of the Canadian Coalition for Healthy School Food in partnership with George Brown College, are eager to learn from global experts and leaders about how their school food programs are structured, financed, monitored, and innovated to bring back best practices for the creation of a world-class National School Food Program.
In 2022, the Coalition began a webinar series exploring how other countries implement their school food programs, how they are funded and cost-shared, and how they are monitored by different levels of government and external stakeholders. The series focuses on pre-pandemic and cornerstone practices that sustain innovative and comprehensive school food programs. However, it also examines key aspects of pandemic-driven improvements, investments, and program expansions.
Coalition for Healthy School Food and Gary Hoyer are proud to present a four-part public webinar series exploring how leading cities around the world are advancing universal school food. Featuring lessons from Seoul, London, Berlin, and New York City, the series highlights innovative policies, strong public leadership, and practical ideas to help nourish children and youth. Join us to learn how cities are building healthier futures through school food.
Cities around the world, including Toronto, are making commitments to universal school food programs. Learn about Seoul’s universal school food programs — among the most comprehensive globally. Speakers will discuss program development, impacts on local food systems, and lessons for Canadian cities.
What You'll Learn
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How Seoul built a universal school meal program
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Impacts on students and local producers
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Key lessons for Canadian cities
Dr. Jennifer Gaddis Associate Professor
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Author of
The Labor of Lunch
Jennifer Gaddis is an associate professor of Civil Society and Community Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
She earned her PhD in 2014 from the Yale School of the Environment. Dr. Gaddis is the author of The Labor of Lunch: Why We Need Real Food and Real Jobs in American Public Schools (University of California Press, 2019) and co-editor with Sarah A. Robert of Transforming School Food Politics around the World (MIT Press, 2024).
She is principal investigator of a $1.5 million national school food workforce study funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, an advisory board member of the US-based National Farm to School Network, and an active public scholar.
In addition to her US-based work, Dr. Gaddis has active collaborations with scholars and practitioners in Brazil and South Korea.
Dr. Seulgi Son
Assistant Professor
University of Seoul Expert in urban and regional planning
Seulgi Son is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Urban Administration at the University of Seoul.
She earned her Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan.
Her research agenda centers on sustainability transitions within food systems, with a particular focus on public food procurement and institutional innovation.
She is currently investigating the role of school meals as a platform for sustainability education.
She also serves on the board of the Seoul Food Civic Council.
Past webinar
The webinar "School Food in France: The Evolution Towards Healthier and More Sustainable School Canteens" on December 8 looked at the current state of school food in France, its implementation and challenges, and then how key players from different backgrounds are working to revolutionize canteens for healthier meals, greater child satisfaction, and reduced food waste.
France's school food program webinar
Past webinar
United Kingdom's school food program webinar
The "UK's School Food Program: Conceptualization, Underlying Policies and Implementation" gave us the opportunity to learn from experts and leaders from England about how their school food program operates to bring back innovative best practices to inform the creation of a world-class School Food Program in Canada.
Panelists include:
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Myles Bremner, CEO of Bremner consulting
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Stephanie Slater, Founder and Chief Executive at School Food Matters, Vice-chair of Sustain
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Naomi Duncan, Chief Executive at Chefs In Schools
Japan's school food program webinar
The "Japan's School Food Program: Conceptualization, Underlying Policies and Implementation" webinar on June 29th delved into the development of school food programs (SFPs) in Japan, how they are funded and their underlying policy mechanisms, as well as how they are implemented and monitored. It also discussed how international policies/acts influenced SFPs in Japan and regional differences in program modalities.
Panelists include:
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Mayumi Uejima-Carr (上島カー 真弓), President, Table for Two USA
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Katsura Omori (大森 桂), Phd., Professor, Academic Assembly, Yamagata University
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Rie Akamatsu (赤松 利恵), RD, DrPH, Ochanomizu University, Faculty of Core Research, Natural Science Division, Professor
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Betty T. Izumi, PhD, MPH, RD, Associate Professor, Program Director, MPH in Health Promotion, OHSU-PSU School of Public Health
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Alexis Agliano Sanborn, director and producer of Nourishing Japan, AM Harvard University (East Asian Studies) and MPA, New York University
US's school food program webinar
The "US's School Food Program: Conceptualization, Underlying Policies and Implementation" on May 4 delved into the development of school food programs (SFPs) in the United States, how they are funded and their underlying policy mechanisms, as well as how they are implemented and monitored. It also discussed how international policies/acts influenced SFPs in the United States and regional differences in program modalities.
Panelists include:
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Lacy Stephens - Program Director, National Farm To School Network
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Janet Poppendieck - PhD & author of Free for All: Fixing School Food in America
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Marisa Cheung - Acting Deputy Associate Administrator, USDA Food and Nutrition Services
Germany's school food program webinar
The "Germany's School Food Program: Conceptualization, Underlying Policies and Implementation" on October 26 delved into the development of school food programs (SFPs) in Germany, how they are funded and their underlying policy mechanisms, as well as how they are implemented and monitored. It also discussed how international policies/acts such as EU policies influenced SFPs in Germany and regional differences in program modalities.
Panelists include:
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Ulrike Arens-Azevedo
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Ernestine Tecklenburg
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Tim Björstrand
Denmark's school food program webinar
"Denmark's School Food Program: Conceptualization, Underlying Policies and Implementation" on August 25 delved into the concept of school food in Denmark as well as its implementation and monitoring guided by the Danish nutritional guidelines and framing education. We also explored the use of school food as a tool for formation and involvement.
Panelists include:
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Line Rise Nielsen
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Astrid Dahl
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Emil Kiær Lund
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Morten Kromann Nielsen
italy's school food program webinar
“Italy’s School Food Program: Funding, Underlying Policy Mechanism and Implementation” webinar on June 24 delved into the development of school food programs (SFPs) in Italy, how they are funded and their underlying policy mechanisms, as well as how they are implemented and monitored. It also discussed how international policies/acts such as EU policies influenced SFPs in Italy and regional differences in program modalities.
Brazil's national school food program: PNAE
The Brazilian National School Food Program (PNAE), created in 1955, is one of the largest social programs in the world, providing meals to over 42 million students in the country’s public schools.
The webinar, co-hosted by The Betinho Project at Ryerson's Centre for Studies in Food Security, Food Secure Canada and the Coalition for Healthy School Food talked about Brazil’s National School Food Program, its structure, its benefits and how it's helping the country reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the webinar, we learned that thanks to the program, food security problems were alleviated, with the families in need getting local fresh food delivered to their homes, assisting the country with SDG-2 (Zero Hunger).
In addition, PNAE highlights the importance of local family farms. The model ensures that these farms, including those of marginalized groups (Indigenous, Quilombolas, low-income farmers, etc.), receive the right local support. This contributes to Brazil's SDG-1 (No Poverty).
scotland's school food program
Featuring three experts on Scotland’s school food program, the webinar talked about the policy, structure and outreach of the Scottish school meal program, its delivery and implementation modality. The Scottish government has required schools to offer balanced and nutritious diets to pupils since 2008, and free school meals have been offered to primary 1-3 pupils since 2015. Currently, the Scottish schools offer 350,000 meals per day on average and among them, 145,000 meals are offered to children entitled to receive free school meals. Also, the webinar highlighted how the Scottish school meal program is helping the country tackle child poverty, build healthier communities and attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Dr. Rachel Engler-Stringer's Research videos
In 2022, Dr. Rachel Engler-Stringer's research team created three videos on the organization and characteristics of school food programs from exemplary countries - Finland, Japan and France.
Their purpose is really to detail how these countries’ programs work as information for governments in Canada.
See the three research videos below.
Global Perspectives on School Food
Explore inspiring initiatives and research from school food programs around the world.
This section highlights innovative models—from scratch-made meals and local procurement to food education and thoughtful dining environments—that support children and youth to thrive in healthy, inclusive, and sustainable school food systems.
By sharing these global examples, we aim to inform pan-Canadian dialogue and strengthen the development of school food programs that reflect the needs and realities of students in Canada.