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https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-a-school-lunch-program-like-many-other-high-income-countries-270279>
"Many Australian parents of school-age children will be looking forward to a
break from the routine of packing school lunch boxes over the summer holidays.
But in some other countries, lunch boxes are increasingly being replaced by
school lunch programs.
Around 80% of primary school children in high-income countries globally receive
school meals. This includes almost all primary school children in countries
such as Finland, Sweden, Japan and South Korea. It’s around three-quarters of
primary school children in the United States and 40% in New Zealand.
School meal programs may provide breakfast, lunch, snacks or food to take home,
but in many countries they include a school lunch.
Australia is one of the few high-income countries that’s not part of the School
Meals Coalition, a global alliance of national governments that aims to ensure
all children get nutritious school meals by 2030.
That’s despite many Australian families struggling to afford enough nutritious
food. Around 16% of Australian families with dependent children (including
students aged 15–24) experienced food insecurity in 2023. It was 34% in
lone-parent households.
High levels of ultra-processed food consumption among Australian school
children are also contributing to rising overweight and obesity, which
increases the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood.
With so many ultra-processed foods – such as chips and biscuits – in
lunchboxes, a well designed school lunch program could make a difference."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
