2025 Edition

From nutrition to the environment and food behaviour in school canteens, INRAE provides public policy support in favour of sustainable food systems.

Today in France, more than 8.5 million young people aged between 3 and 17 attend a school canteen, usually 4 or 5 times a week. School catering is therefore an essential lever in meeting the challenges of food safety, public health (obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, etc.) and, more recently, the environment and local development. Food lies at the crossroads of health, nutritional, social, economic, environmental and local issues in France and internationally.

In France, several regulations and public policies have provided a framework for this catering offer. Drawing on more than 50 years of research into food, agronomy and the environment, INRAE scientists have been providing support to those involved in public policy on school catering for around twenty years. This support has been reinforced by the EGalim Act of 2018 and the Climate and Resilience Act of 2021, which promote healthy and sustainable food in canteens.

This dossier presents a series of research studies, research initiatives and expert reports carried out by INRAE in relation to school catering, from the nutritional components of school meals to connecting with short distribution channels and organic farming. INRAE’s work informs stakeholders and public action, from designing public policies to their evaluation and implementation.