Parents divided over healthy school lunch.

Parents divided over healthy school lunch.

How do parents feel about a healthy school lunch at school? Opinions are divided. 44% of parents support it and 38% are against it. It is one of the conclusions from the research we carried out together with the investigative journalism platform Pointer (KRO-NCRV) among parents in the Landelijk Ouderpanel.

Almost all children have lunch at school

Most children stay at school during the lunch break. 92% of parents say their child has lunch at school. Just over half of the parents (56%) are happy with how the school organizes this. On the other hand, a fifth of the parents (20%) are unhappy about it.

Quarter hour lunch time too short

For half of the parents (51%) their child only gets a quarter of an hour to have lunch. That is not always enough. Nearly a quarter of the parents (24%) think the lunch time is too short. Their child often comes home with a still full lunchbox.

Rules healthy lunch

A little more than half of the parents (52%) believe that school should set rules for healthy food. And a quarter of the parents disagree. When it comes to responsibility, 42% think healthy food is a task of the school.

Organization healthy school lunch

In countries such as Sweden, Finland, and France it is common for schools to organize the healthy school lunch. Dutch parents are divided over whether the organization should be the school’s task. 44% of parents support this and 38% disagree. If the school day gets longer by offering lunch, 53% of parents do not mind.

Participation

If school organizes the lunch, 82% of parents are willing to pay for it. Some parents add that if they pay, they also want to have a say in how the school lunch looks.

About the research

911 parents with children in primary school took part in the research. The results show an indication of what parents think about a healthy school lunch at school. Want to join the conversation about important school topics? Then sign up for the Landelijk Ouderpanel.

Rules nutrition policy

Do you want to know more about rules on nutrition policy at your child(ren)’s school? For example, who is responsible and where you can go with questions. You can read all about it in our Knowledge Base. Still have a question? You can always contact our Advice Point staff.