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. 2023 May 23;20(11):5916.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20115916.

Interventions to Strengthen Environmental Sustainability of School Food Systems: Narrative Scoping Review

Grace Gardner  1 , Wendy Burton  2 , Maddie Sinclair  3 , Maria Bryant  2   4
Affiliations

Interventions to Strengthen Environmental Sustainability of School Food Systems: Narrative Scoping Review

Grace Gardner et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

School food systems play a role in the wider food system, but there is a scarcity of literature exploring interventions that aim to improve the environmental sustainability of school food systems. The present review aimed to understand and describe the types of interventions that have previously been explored to strengthen the sustainability of school food systems along with their impact. We applied a scoping review methodology guided by Arksey and O'Malley, which included a review of the online database Scopus and the grey literature. Information relating to intervention design, study population, evaluation method and impact were extracted. In total, 6016 records were screened for eligibility, 24 of which were eligible for inclusion. The most common types of interventions were school lunch menus designed to be more sustainable; school food waste reduction; sustainable food system education using school gardens; and dietary interventions with added environmental components. This review highlights a range of interventions which could positively influence the environmental sustainability of school food systems. Further research is needed to explore the effectiveness of such interventions.

Keywords: planetary health; population health; school food system; sustainability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scoping review search results.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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