The day has arrived. The royal decree on school menus comes into force this Thursday despite doubts within the educational world about the scope of the norm. The initiative, promoted by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, was approved exactly one year ago and is mandatory from this Thursday, April 16.
The text establishes minimums on fresh, seasonal, local, and organic foods in school menus, but for the alliance Escuelas que saben, which encompasses social groups, educational centers, local producers and agricultural unions, the current requirements do not guarantee a real change in public procurement. The initiative seeks to demonstrate that each school menu is a political decision.
Lack of concretion
According to the norm, contracted caterings have to ensure to the contracting centers a daily consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables; guaranteeing that at least the 45% of the fruit and vegetables served are seasonal to also promote local production. In addition, at least two dishes per month or 5% of the expenditure must be allocated to organic production.
In this regard, the alliance points out that although the text incorporates key concepts, the formulations are weak leading to gaps. For example, in the case of the "seasonal product", as almost no CCAA has its own calendar, the Ministry's (state) one is used. The problem they identify is that this calendar includes greenhouses, which is why "legally it is considered “seasonal” to eat tomatoes all year round, even if it is not their natural season or they are not local", they argue.
Exclusion 0-3 years
The centers that must apply the royal decree are both public, as well as subsidized and private that provide early childhood education (2nd cycle), primary, special education, compulsory secondary education, baccalaureate and basic and intermediate vocational training cycles.
However, the 0 to 3 years age group is excluded from this regulation. The issue has generated much controversy by excluding a stage considered fundamental for the development of eating habits, precisely "when greater protection against ultra-processed foods should exist".
For Escuelas que saben it represents a “lost opportunity” and "weakens the scope of the norm and generates an inconsistency in the protection of childhood".
Tenders, to trial
A large part of school canteen contracts are awarded through tenders. Precisely, this issue is another of the shortcomings identified in the royal decree. For the alliance, with the current wording of the text "food can travel thousands of kilometers before reaching the plate, even when local alternatives are available".
The proposal of Escuelas que saben involves limiting the maximum weight of the price in tenders to 20% and proportionally strengthening criteria of nutritional quality, sustainability, social and territorial impact, and proximity. They argue that without this change, "any regulatory advance is conditioned by the logic of price."
At the autonomous level, they point out that the royal decree must be understood as a framework of minimums and urge the CCAA to go further and improve the requirements for production and territorial development.