School meals have considerable potential to shape children's diets and reduce the climate impact of meals. This study applies linear programming for developing and implementing a climate friendly, nutritious and affordable school lunch menu. The new menu plan will be compared to the baseline menu during a 4-week intervention trial. The outcomes will be food waste, consumption, and pupils' satisfaction with the meals before and after introducing the new meal plan analyzed by interrupted time series analysis. Our hypothesis is that school meals can be optimized to be nutritious and more climate friendly, without negatively affecting acceptance, food waste and cost. Four primary schools in one Swedish municipality with the same menu plan for all schools will participate in the study. Their current meal supply will be recorded in the form of a food list including amount and cost of each item over a 4-week period. This list will then be optimized with linear programming to be as similar as possible to the baseline diet but with a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of about 30%. No new foods will be introduced and none will be removed from the list. Nutritionally adequacy will be ensured by including constraints into the model. The optimized food list will be handed to the municipality's meal planner and a new menu plan will be developed based on the revised food list. Data on food waste and consumption will be collected daily during a baseline period of four weeks, and during the four-week intervention period. School lunch satisfaction will be assessed twice with an online questionnaire at baseline and during the intervention.
Age range
6 Years – 16 Years
Sex
ALL
See this in plain English?
AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.
Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.
The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.
A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.
Change in plate waste between baseline and intervention periods measured with kitchen-scales
Timeframe: During four weeks before the intervention period and during the four week intervention
Change in serving waste between baseline and intervention periods measured with kitchen-scales
Timeframe: During four weeks before the intervention period and during the four week intervention
Change in food consumption between baseline and intervention periods
Timeframe: During four weeks before the intervention period and during the four week intervention
Change in school meal satisfaction between baseline and intervention periods
Timeframe: Once during the four weeks preceding the intervention as well as once during the last week of intervention