Sustainable School Menus, Sustainable Future: A Case Study from the Turkish School Lunch Menu

Objective: Schools and school menus are among the most effective settings to address healthy and sustainable nutrition. This study aims to examine the carbon footprint (CF) and water footprint (WF) of the lunch menu in a private school in İstanbul, Türkiye. Material and Methods: The study examined 56 different foods and beverages included in a 21-day fall semester lunch menu for 275 students. The carbon and WF values of the foods in the meals were computed according to data obtained by literature review, and the relevant values per person were interpreted monthly, weekly, and daily. Results: As a result, the 21-day lunch menu had a total CF of 18.9 kg CO2 eq/person/month, with a mean of 0.90±0.54 kg CO2 eq/person/day; the total WF of the menu was 16,026 L/kg food/month, with a mean of 763.2±330.2 L/kg food/person/day. When the day with the highest carbon and WF was examined, it was observed that the menu consisted of vegetable soup, meatballs with potatoes, piyaz (bean salad), semolina halva with raisins, and salad bar (1.6 kg CO2 eq/person/day, 988.5 L/kg food/person/day). Conclusion: Comparing the values in the current results with school menu studies conducted in different countries, the values in our study are at a moderate level for CF and higher for water footprint. This study is expected to pioneer school sustainability studies in our country, and further studies are warranted. The relationship between nutrition and sustainability should be more part of dietary guidelines, and awareness should be raised.