Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 34
A public health tool hiding in plain sight
The roots of Japan’s school lunch program
stretch back more than a century, with early
meals provided to support children from low
income families. After World War II, school
lunches became an important nutrition measure
during a period of food insecurity. The national
School Lunch Program Act was enacted in 1954,
helping establish school meals as a structured
part of child health and education.
ūshoku continues to serve a broader
Today, Kyū
public health purpose. It helps shape children’s
understanding of balanced eating, exposes
them to different foods and normalises shared
mealtimes. It also creates a consistent food
environment at a critical stage of life, when
habits and preferences are still forming.
Across the world, many countries are grappling
with the double burden of malnutrition, where
undernutrition can exist alongside rising rates
of overweight and obesity. In some regions,
children may not have reliable access to
enough nutritious food. In others, the greater
challenge may be the easy availability of highly
processed, low nutrient foods.
ūshoku does not solve every issue, but it
Kyū
shows how schools can play a practical role in
building healthier food habits at scale.
How school lunch
differs around
the world
School lunch looks very
different from country
to country.
In some places, school
meals are universal and
treated as part of public
education. In others, meals
are targeted to children
from lower income
households.
Some countries rely
heavily on school canteens
or vending options, while
others depend on packed
