Sustainable Food Procurement in Educational Systems

Sustainable food procurement in educational settings encompasses strategic purchasing policies that prioritise environmental protection, social equity and economic viability within school and university catering services. This approach seeks to align procurement decisions with broader sustainable development goals, including reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions, support for local and small-scale producers, and the promotion of healthy, nutritionally balanced diets among students. Central to this endeavour are policy frameworks that embed sustainability criteria into tendering processes, guidelines for menu planning that reduce the reliance on high-impact foods such as ruminant meat, and investment in infrastructure—both physical and digital—to streamline supply-chain interactions. Equally important are efforts to cultivate stakeholder engagement, from procurement officers and caterers to parents, educators and civil-society groups, fostering co-production of services and reinforcing socio-cultural commitments to lifelong healthy eating habits. Globally, sustainable procurement in schools is recognised not only as a lever for decarbonising food systems but also as a pathway to local economic development, improved food literacy and resilience of regional agricultural networks. Emerging digital tools, standardised sustainability metrics and cross-sector partnerships are driving practical innovations, while persistent barriers—budget constraints, logistical complexity and organisational silos—continue to shape the rate of adoption.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Sustainable Food Procurement in Educational Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in sustainable food procurement in educational systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Sustainable food procurement: The process of acquiring food products through policies and practices that minimise environmental impact, support social welfare and ensure economic sustainability.

Co-production: A participatory governance approach in which service users, stakeholders and public authorities jointly design, implement and evaluate public services.

Localised procurement: Procurement strategies that prioritise purchasing goods from nearby producers to strengthen regional economies and reduce transportation emissions.

Agroecological transition: The shift towards farming systems grounded in ecological principles, emphasising biodiversity, resource efficiency and social equity in food production.

References

1. Transforming public food procurement: Stakeholder understandings of barriers and opportunities for more localised procurement. Journal of Rural Studies (2024).
2. Co-Producing Sustainability: Involving Parents and Civil Society in the Governance of School Meal Services. A Case Study from Pisa, Italy. Sustainability (2014).
3. Routes to sustainability in public food procurement: An investigation of different models in primary school catering. Journal of Cleaner Production (2022).