The Whole School Food Approach (WSFA) is a method for developing a healthy and sustainable food culture in and around schools. The goal is to approach food in a holistic way, through a variety of learning situations and subjects that allow us to look at food from different perspectives. WSFA focusses on four areas of work, or pillars.
Who is involved?
The WSFA invites school meal providers, city officials, producers, farmers, parents, and pupils to sit together at one table. This makes it possible for everyone to understand where the food comes from, what it does to their bodies and how it impacts the climate and environment.
The approach stimulates authentic learning by for example farm to school twinning initiatives. This gives children the opportunity to experience the complete growing cycle of their food, while farmers and producers get a chance to connect directly with the youngest consumers.
What are the 4 pillars of the WSFA?
Policy & Leadership: convincing stakeholders to make food an intrinsic part of school life
Food & Sustainability: providing healthy and sustainable food in school cafeterias, during breaks and outside the school environment
Education & Learning: expanding the curriculum as well as getting involved in the recruitment of school staff, cooks, principals and teachers
Community & Partnership: cooperation with stakeholders associated with the school such as school staff and teachers, local shops, restaurants, farmers, etc.
The WSFA guidelines describe every pillar in detail. They also include possible starting points, implementation measures, stakeholder roles and evaluation criteria. This framework helps schools facilitate the transition by providing information on practical teaching methods, learning activities and the active participation of pupils and teachers. The aim is to link and involve everyone along the entire chain with a new vision of sustainable school meals.
How does WSFA works?
To implement WSFA a school must work on all four pillars, as each pillar contains different building blocks to support the gradual implementation of a healthy and sustainable food culture. Different schools will be at different point on their journey towards a WSFA. Therefore, WSFA offers three implementation levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. To be a WSFA-school, one must at least be on bronze level, but for schools that take further steps in their work there are the silver and gold levels that, which require higher commitments in all four pillars
What are the benefits?
A core pedagogic idea is the starting point to reach a good education, together with a shared vision and mission of how the school should work and what one wants to reach, a clear vision. WSFA can be that common idea. Health and sustainability are complex issues to deal with but at the same time crucial for the present and the future. We can’t close our eyes to the fact that the way we produce and consume food is among the biggest challenges to reach a sustainable future. A school that works with WSFA gives students both knowledge on healthy and sustainable food, as well as motivation and opportunities to act and be conscious citizens here and now and in the future. WSFA builds on a holistic view of sustainable development, which means that both ecological, economic, and social perspectives are embedded in the work. Via inter alia collaboration (between the canteen staff, the teachers, and the students), opportunities for authentic learning and collaboration with the surrounding community, and interdisciplinary work, the students gain knowledge, motivation and opportunities to act for healthier and more sustainable eating habits.
Where do I find support?
To find out more about the four pillars and what they involve, there is a Practical guide for schools on how to implement the Whole School Food approach and guidelines (available in different languages) with indicators, tools, and good practices to get some inspiration. The manual has been developed through the School Food 4Change project, building on the insights of school food and education experts from across the EU and aims to provide guidelines and support your work to implement the WSFA. This means that you don´t have to read it from first to last page but use the sections relevant to you, depending on where you are in your work with WSFA.
Video: Get to know SchoolFood4Change, a EU-funded project for enjoyable and healthy #schoolmeals! (youtube.com)
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