The tenth graders eagerly help themselves to steaming hot spaghetti and meat sauce and butter on baguettes. – It looks very good, Sigve Dale says contentedly and finds his place in the classroom. Around him, fellow students sit and cheerful chatter spreads along with the smell of hot food. Once a week, the pupils at Hyllestad school in Vestland get a free lunch. Dana Marzaei (number two from the right) does not always eat breakfast and therefore thinks it is extra nice to get food at school. Here with Eirik Dale Salbu (left), Gabriel Ølmheim Ulvik and Kamilla Nydal Espeland. Photo: astrid solheim korsvoll / news – It’s very good. We get full and are served lots of good food, says Dale. Every sixth secondary school provides pupils with some form of school food. This is what the Norwegian Institute of Public Health’s (FHI) figures show from 2020. In Hyllestad, they have had free school meals for three years. In that time, the environment at the school has improved, says teacher Morten Askvik. – It is also motivating and contributes to increased learning. At least we think so, says Askvik. Teacher Morten Askvik and pupil Dana Mirzaei prepare lunch for the secondary school. According to Askvik, he notices well the pupils who are not getting food. – We also notice that they are very happy about the meal, he says. Photo: astrid solheim korsvoll / news He is supported by principal Kristin Eimind, who also points out that their student survey shows this. – Too little is known about what free school meals mean The Government has promised free school meals, but no money has yet been allocated for this. In 2019, Ap outlined a price tag of NOK 3 billion. Ap cannot answer what free food will cost today. And although free school meals are something many people want, researchers know too little about its effects. – Many have opinions about free school meals; that it should improve nutrition, learning and even out social inequalities. But this contrasts with what we actually know, and we know too little. This is according to Arnfinn Helleve, researcher at FHI and head of the center for the evaluation of public health initiatives. In Norway, a few small studies have been carried out. FHI therefore wants more research on the topic. The big question is whether free school meals will make more pupils do better at school. – We don’t have the big studies that unequivocally state that giving free food every day has the effect that many people want, says Helleve. Hyllestad will spend NOK 550,000 on free school meals this year. Mayors in Kjell Eide (Ap) say they have plenty of things to spend money on, such as new asphalt. But that they think the money is so important to spend on the young. Photo: astrid solheim korsvoll / news Many countries have free school meals. Research there shows that pupils get better nutrition, learning and participation. But we cannot take this research into Norwegian classrooms, says Helleve. This is because most people in Norway have a fairly good diet from before. – Pay attention to the pupils’ habits Professor Frøydis Nordgård Vik at the University of Agder is responsible for some of the Norwegian research. There, 164 pupils participated in the School Food Project in Agder. The fact that there were relatively few students is something that must be taken into account when interpreting the results, she says. The researchers concluded in 2019 that a free bread meal improved the pupils’ eating habits at school. Pupils whose parents had a lower education ate healthier than before. The researchers did not find this change in pupils whose parents had a higher education. – Therefore, we can say that the school meals project indicates that free school meals can have a social equalizing effect, says Nordgård Vik. She also believes that more research over time will be useful. There are also others who see a need for that. The Directorate of Health says they had to use foreign studies when they recently presented a report on school meals. Defends spending Labor has long promised free school meals, but the promise is still in the blue. This is because the party wants more knowledge about how it should be organised. That’s what Elise Waagen, spokesperson for education policy in Ap, says. Many schools serve free school meals. More calm and concentrated rivers, as well as a better social environment, are the feedbacks that come in, according to the Labor Party. They want free school meals at all schools. Photo: Astrid Solheim Korsvoll / news – Researcher Arnfinn Helleve says we do not have enough studies to determine all the positive effects that we think free school meals have. Is it then right to spend so much money on this? – The Directorate of Health recommends that we get this in place because good eating habits start early. But we also want more research, says Waagen. Labor will take money from the health budget, and not the school budget, to make this happen. That’s how shocked Swedish children are when they see Norwegian lunch – No more research needed Mina Gerhardsen, secretary general of the National Association for Public Health, thinks we know enough that free food at school is good for students. Here you can listen to the radio talk about free school meals and its effects. – We hardly need more research to be sure that it is good for children to have a healthy meal during the school day. For the Education Association, school food is not on the priority list of what is most important. That’s what manager Steffen Handal says. – We of course see that well-fed children learn better and are not against school meals. But a school meal scheme must not be taken from the school budget, says Handal. They probably think that teachers are the most important factor for pupils’ learning.
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Researchers uncertain about the effect of free school meals – news Vestland
