RE-TASTY
Research - Transformative Actions for Sustainability Together with Youth
Whole School Food Approach
The Whole School Approach (WSA) is a framework that schools can use to shape their education towards sustainability. It consists of six interactive components that incorporate all areas and stakeholders that can be engaged.
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The WSA can be adapted to focus on healthy and sustainable food and education, thus having the Whole School Food Approach (WSFA). The goal of the WSFA is to address various aspects of school life including teaching and learning activities, active participation of students and teachers, the operation of school canteens, as well as the involvement of the wider school community such as parents, farmers, NGOs, etc.​​​​
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Policy and vision of the school​
The central part of the flower addresses a school’s approach to healthy and sustainable food and how it can be incorporated into the school’s life and culture. It relates to how the school empowers students to participate in food decisions and how the school broadly integrates the WSFA in the entire school experience, educational process and culture.
Curriculum and food​​
Food should be part of a school’s curriculum, giving emphasis both to the sustainability and health aspects of food. Furthermore, food should be handled in a multi-disciplinary way, through various subjects and through teacher collaborations. The students should be asked on what they would like to learn about food and whether they are receiving enough information on this topic. Food can also be part of outdoor classroom education and/or integrated as an extracurricular activity. Finally, the unwritten lessons and values over food consumption that are embedded in the school culture, interactions and daily routine are also an important element to have in mind.
Pedagogy and learning​
Food is a real-life element for people, therefore learning about food should not be constrained only in the classroom but it should also take place out of the classroom, through experiential and participatory learning on the school grounds (e.g., a school gardening experience) and in the local community (e.g., local food business visit. Education that touches on food health and sustainability should aim to help students become critical thinkers of the current food systems and food consumption patterns and take action towards a different way of producing and consuming food. The citizen science approach of this project is an also transformative approach to education aiming to empower students to take the lead as scientists and implement participatory research to suggest actions in their school environment and policies.
Institutional practices​
A school as an institution should be a sustainability example itself and operate in a way that matches and compliments what is taught on healthy and sustainable food. What food behaviours a school invites or makes difficult reflect the school’s intentions and beliefs. It is important for the school to engage its students in sustainable and healthy eating by finding ways to reduce the school’s footprint e.g., by operating healthy and sustainable school canteens, by having a school garden the produce of which is used for food preparation, by eliminating the sale of UPFs through the school vending machines, etc.
School-community connections
The formation of a network between the school and various community stakeholders which are related to the food system (e.g., parents, social and non-governmental organizations working on food, local government, food companies or local entrepreneurs such as farmers, restaurants, food retailers) can provide mutual learning in the area of food that can benefit the ‘food’ learning journey of the students. It is important for the students to use and connect with their local food environment and be engaged into teaching and learning opportunities from it.
Capacity building and professional development of staff
A transition to a more healthy and sustainable school food system enquires that teachers as well as staff that relates to the school food system have the appropriate competencies to support such transition. It is important for the school staff to regularly update on food health and sustainability developments and align with the school curriculum and ethos.