Without canteen 1 in 3 children gained weight

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13 September 2021 School starts again and 3 out of 4 parents are also for the reopening of school canteens. Italian parents are aware of the fact that, during the lockdown and with distance learning, the feeding of their children at home was frequently irregular, unbalanced and lacking in nutritious and essential foods for growth, such as, for example, fruit. , vegetables and fish. Parents report that, in the same period, almost 1 in three children gained weight in the absence of the school lunch service.

The data emerge from the research: "School catering: expectations of families in post-Covid and the desirability / essentiality of the service" carried out by IPSOS for the Cirfood districT Observatory.   

The research analyzed: the eating habits of Italian families at home, the impact of the lockdown on the nutrition of children and the expectations and needs of parents, with respect to the restart of the school lunch service for the 2021/2022 school year. 

The analysis of the data has photographed a reality in which dad and lockdown have contributed to accentuate the difficulty of families in organizing the meal at home, affecting the professional activity of parents, who are forced to interrupt work to prepare the meal for the little ones. (40%) and forcing many children to have lunch alone (35%). The data show that 76% of parents feel good about the idea of ​​the reopening of school canteens, because they are aware of the complete and quality food model provided at school in terms of healthiness, education for conscious consumption and sociability. Trust but also a request for clarification on how the service will be managed.

"In addition to the nutritional point of view, we have always believed in the social and educational responsibility that the school catering service has towards children, but today more than ever, in a context in which food poverty and malnutrition are on the rise exponentially, we intend to continue to work so that everyone can access a safe and quality meal "said Chiara Nasi, president of Cirfood. "Furthermore, the economic and strategic value of our sector is recognized by Italian families, proving the importance it holds for the recovery of the country". For the interviewees, school catering has positive effects on local businesses (88%), allows parents to improve family organization (74%) and promotesfemale employment generating new job opportunities (85%). Parents of children who attend institutions where there is no school canteen service claim its importance: according to the research conducted, 84% of this target considers the canteen essential in the case of full-time and at the same time, in the case of reduced school time, more than one in two parents would be interested in using them.