Can School Organic Food Policy Promote Healthy Behaviors in Danish Children?

Schools are a well suited setting for learning and establishment of good habits of children and youth. Using schools in healthy eating strategies may play an important role in preventing children from becoming obese and overweight, and a growing number of schools and municipalities engage in initiatives which promote healthy foods and physical activity. Concurrently, municipalities and other public bodies increasingly recognize their responsibility to support sustainable food production methods, such as organic agriculture, by choosing this kind of foods in public institutions. The question therefore arises whether these two trends - healthier eating strategies for youth, and increased public consumption of organic food, interact. This paper investigates the interrelation between the two trends: healthy eating and organic consumption. In Denmark, public schools are utilised for public organic food supply strategies in a few dedicated municipalities. Concurrently, the schools are an arena for innovative strategies that may increase the availability of healthier food options. The purpose of this study was to examine whether organic food intervention strategies in Danish school meal systems can support the development of healthier eating patterns among pupils. Food strategies of “organic” schools were compared to those of “non organic” schools. The study was undertaken among school food coordinators through a web-based questionnaire in selected public primary schools. The questionnaire explored the attitudes, policies/intentions and actions in relation to organic and healthy foods served in the schools. Results indicate that organic food intervention strategies can be supportive for strategies to increase the healthiness of school eating patterns.