Can school meal provision contribute to the reduction of social inequalities in health and improve learning outcomes? The case of Denmark and Sweden

This case study focuses on school meal provision and its potential contribution to reducing social inequalities in health and improving learning outcomes among children and adolescents, using national approaches to school food services in Denmark and Sweden as examples. It describes the overall structure of the provision of school meals in the two countries and presents three cases in which participation, social inequalities in health and learning outcomes have been addressed. These cases contribute to the debate on the future of school meal provision and the potential for such provision to play a more active role in shaping young people’s health and promoting health equality by making healthy choices more widely available to those from disadvantaged families.