Developing healthy and sustainable school food systems: A collaborative practice in the city of Madrid

PROBLEM: Eating habits and lifestyle during childhood and adolescence are key to achieving an adequate health status in adulthood. Malnutrition, in the forms of overweight and obesity, disproportionately occurs among vulnerable communities. The question is: How can cities develop strategies and policies to stablish and maintain healthy and sustainable school food systems? In Madrid, the Healthy and Sustainable Food Strategy started in 2018-22 with a revised phase 2022-25 for the promotion of healthy and sustainable policies. Within the public nursery system, local NGOs, food and nutrition researchers, the education department and city officials collaborated to develop healthy and sustainable menus and public food procurement. This collaborative practice can be useful to other European cities. OBJECTIVE: To describe the example of Madrid developing collaborative policies (e.g. public food procurement standards) and activities between city administration, civil society and academia (e.g. creation of school based Food Driving Groups) towards healthy and sustainable school food systems. RESULTS: We will share two specific sets of results: 1) Creation of school-based Food Driving Groups. 2) Establishment of public food procurement criteria. More results will be presented at the conference. LESSONS: Regarding school food procurement criteria, it is necessary to improve the knowledge of the different socio-environmental variables of food. The development of school-based Food Driving Groups as a fruitful and sustained collaboration is only possible with the education department leadership.