Introduction-Targets have been set at both global and national levels to fight the climate changes that are happening on our planet. Food and meals directly and indirectly affect several of these goals. For more than a decade the Meal service-department in Härryda kommun have been working on making their school meals more sustainable and now they want a follow-up on that.
Aims- To investigate if and in that case how the carbon footprint from the high school of Härryda kommun’s school meals has changed from 1993 to 2020. A second purpose is to investigate any changes in the content of the school lunches referred to foods.
Materials and methods-In order to investigate possible changes in carbon footprints over time, samples of school lunches in the time period 1993-2020 have been calculated. In order to see any changes in the content of the school lunches, frequencies of five selected foods have been studied.
Results-There is no significant difference in CO₂e between period 1 (1993 + 1998 + 2003) and period 2 (2013 + 2018 + 2020). There are small tendencies that indicate a decrease in carbon footprint from the school meals in the last decade. The presence of pure beef, products of pig and rice have decreased in the school meals, while plant-based protein and meat from birds have increased.
Conclusion-No significant difference in climate imprint between 1993 and 2020 could be determined. There were obvious changes in the content of the school lunches with regard to food during the same time period.