Transforming School Meals with Nationwide Nutrition Guidelines in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka faces a triple burden of malnutrition—undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiencies—affecting children’s health, cognitive development, and future productivity. Schools, where children spend significant time and often consume at least one meal, are critical platforms for addressing these challenges. By transforming school meals and establishing nationwide nutrition guidelines and standards, Sri Lanka can promote healthier diets, reduce malnutrition, and align with the National Nutrition Policy (NNP) 2021-2030 and the Food Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) for Sri Lankans 2021. This blog outlines a comprehensive strategy to achieve this, drawing on evidence-based practices and local context.

Sri Lankan rural School Children

Why School Meals Matter

School meals are more than just food—they’re an investment in children’s health and education. Poor nutrition impairs concentration, academic performance, and physical growth, perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality. The NNP highlights that 15% of children under 5 suffer from wasting and 17% from stunting, while obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes are rising due to unhealthy diets. The FBDG emphasizes balanced meals to prevent these issues, making school meal programs a key intervention point.

By providing nutritious meals, schools can:

• Address immediate hunger and micronutrient deficiencies.

• Promote lifelong healthy eating habits.

• Reduce disparities, especially for vulnerable groups like children in estate sectors or urban under-settlements.

• Support local agriculture and food security, aligning with NNP’s focus on sustainable food systems.

Step 1: Developing Nationwide Nutrition Guidelines for School Meals

Creating robust nutrition guidelines requires aligning with national policies and global standards while addressing local dietary patterns and challenges. Here’s how Sri Lanka can approach this:

Core Principles

• Lifecycle Approach: Guidelines should cater to children and adolescents (6-18 years), as outlined in FBDG Chapters 17 and 18, ensuring age-specific nutrient needs (e.g., higher protein and calcium for growth spurts).

• Balanced Diet: Follow the FBDG model food plate—half the plate with whole grains or starchy foods, one-third of the other half with vegetables and green leaves, and the rest with proteins (two-thirds plant-based, one-third animal-based).

• Sustainability: Prioritize locally sourced, minimally processed foods to reduce environmental impact, as emphasized in the FBDG’s environmentally sustainable diet concept.

• Equity: Ensure accessibility for all, including marginalized groups, as per NNP’s inclusiveness principle.

• Evidence-Based: Use data from the National Nutrition Surveillance System (NNSS) to tailor guidelines to regional malnutrition trends.

Nutritional Standards

Based on FBDG recommendations for children (6-10 years) and adolescents (11-18 years), school meals should provide:

• Energy: 1400-1900 kcal/day for ages 6-10; 2000-3400 kcal/day for ages 11-18, adjusted for activity levels.

• Food Groups:

  • Cereals and Starchy Foods: 6-8 servings (ages 6-10) or 11-18 servings (ages 11-18), prioritizing whole grains like parboiled or less polished rice (e.g., Suwendal, Pachchaperumal) for fiber and lower glycemic load.

  • Vegetables and Green Leaves: 3-5 servings, including vitamin A-rich options (carrots, pumpkin) and green leaves (Kathurumurunga, Thampala) for antioxidants and minerals.

  • Fruits: 2-4 servings, emphasizing seasonal varieties (mango, papaya, guava) for vitamins and phytochemicals.

  • Pulses: 2-4 servings, such as chickpeas or green gram, for plant-based protein and iron.

  • Fish, Lean Meat, or Eggs: 2-5 servings, with small fish (sprats) or eggs for calcium and high-quality protein; limit red meat to reduce NCD risk.

  • Milk or Fermented Products: 1-2 servings for calcium, especially for adolescents to support bone density.

  • Nuts and Oily Seeds: 1-3 servings (e.g., peanuts, sesame) for healthy fats.

  • Oils and Coconut: 1-6 servings, using minimal coconut oil to control saturated fat.

• Limits:

  • Salt: <5g/day to prevent hypertension (FBDG 7).

  • Free Sugars: <10% of energy intake, avoiding sugary drinks and ultra-processed snacks (FBDG 8).

  • Trans Fats: Avoid deep-fried or processed foods like short-eats (FBDG 13).

Sample Menu

A daily school lunch could include:

• Cereals: 1/2 cup parboiled red rice or string hoppers (2 servings).

• Vegetables: 1/2 cup pumpkin curry + 1/2 cup green beans (2 servings).

• Green Leaves: 3 tbsp Kathurumurunga mallum (1 serving).

• Protein: 3 tbsp green gram curry (1 serving) + 1 small fish cutlet (1 serving).

• Fruit: 1 medium banana (1 serving).

• Drink: 1 glass of water (FBDG 9 recommends 8-10 glasses daily).

This menu provides ~600-800 kcal, covering a significant portion of daily needs, with snacks or home meals completing the requirement.

Sri Lankan Food Pyramid

Regulatory Framework

• Legislation: Strengthen the Food Act 1980 to mandate nutrition standards in schools, as suggested by NNP’s legal framework priority.

• Monitoring: Establish a School Nutrition Committee under the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to oversee compliance, using NNSS data to track outcomes.

• Labeling: Enforce FBDG 14 (reading food labels) to ensure packaged foods meet sugar, salt, and fat limits.

Step 2: Transforming School Meal Programs

Revamping school meals involves infrastructure, training, and community engagement to ensure guidelines translate into practice.

Menu Planning

• Local Adaptation: Menus should reflect regional availability (e.g., jackfruit in rural areas, fish in coastal regions) and cultural preferences, aligning with NNP’s community engagement principle.

• Variety: Rotate menus weekly to include diverse grains (Kurakkan, maize), pulses, and seasonal produce to prevent monotony and ensure nutrient diversity (FBDG 2, 4).

• Portion Control: Train staff to serve age-appropriate portions, using FBDG serving sizes (e.g., 1/2 cup rice = 1 serving).

• Healthy Snacks: Offer nutrient-dense options like boiled gram or fruit instead of ultra-processed biscuits (FBDG 26).

Sourcing and Preparation

• Local Procurement: Partner with local farmers to supply fresh vegetables, fruits, and pulses, supporting NNP’s food security goals and reducing transport emissions.

• Food Safety: Implement FBDG 12 (eat clean and safe food) through hygiene training for cooks and regular inspections to prevent contamination.

• Minimal Processing: Prioritize home-cooked or minimally processed meals over ultra-processed foods, which are high in additives (FBDG 13).

• Functional Foods: Incorporate items like turmeric, ginger, or fermented curd for their health benefits, as detailed in FBDG 21.

Infrastructure

• Kitchens: Equip schools with basic cooking facilities, prioritizing gas or electric stoves to reduce reliance on firewood, aligning with environmental sustainability.

• Storage: Provide cool, dry storage for grains and pulses to prevent spoilage, especially in humid regions.

• Water Access: Ensure clean drinking water availability to meet FBDG 9’s hydration recommendation.

Training and Capacity Building

• Staff Training: Train cooks and school staff on FBDG principles, portion control, and safe food handling, with support from the Nutrition Division and FAO.

• Teacher Education: Integrate nutrition education into teacher training to reinforce healthy eating messages in classrooms, as per NNP’s social behavior change focus.

• Parent Involvement: Conduct workshops to align home diets with school meals, addressing myths (e.g., avoiding green leaves during pregnancy).

Pilot Programs

• Start Small: Pilot the program in 100 schools across diverse regions (urban, rural, estate) to test feasibility, monitor outcomes (e.g., BMI, attendance), and refine menus.

• Scale Up: Use pilot data to secure funding from the Ministry of Education, UNICEF, and FAO for nationwide rollout, as done for FBDG development.

Step 3: Engaging Stakeholders

Success depends on multi-sector collaboration, a cornerstone of the NNP.

• Government: The Ministry of Health (Nutrition Division) and Ministry of Education should lead, with NNC coordinating across agriculture, fisheries, and local government.

• NGOs and UN Agencies: Leverage FAO’s expertise in sustainable agriculture and UNICEF’s experience in child nutrition to provide technical and financial support.

• Private Sector: Partner with food suppliers for affordable, quality ingredients, ensuring ethical marketing (NNP 10.3).

• Communities: Involve parents, school boards, and local leaders to build trust and ensure cultural relevance.

Step 4: Monitoring and Evaluation

To ensure impact, the program must be rigorously monitored:

• Indicators: Track malnutrition rates (stunting, wasting, obesity), dietary diversity, and academic performance using NNSS and school health records.

• Audits: Conduct annual audits of meal quality, hygiene, and adherence to guidelines by provincial nutrition committees (PSCN).

• Feedback: Collect input from students, parents, and teachers to refine menus and address challenges (e.g., taste preferences).

• Research: Partner with universities (e.g., University of Colombo, per FBDG contributors) to study long-term health outcomes.

Challenges and Solutions

• Funding: Limited budgets can be offset by redirecting existing school meal funds, seeking UN grants, and integrating with agricultural subsidies.

• Cultural Resistance: Address preferences for refined rice or sugary snacks through education campaigns highlighting traditional varieties (e.g., Heenati rice) and their benefits.

• Logistics: Overcome supply chain issues by decentralizing procurement to district levels, as suggested by NNP’s multi-sector action plan.

• Staff Capacity: Scale up training through online modules and peer mentoring, supported by the Nutrition Society of Sri Lanka.

Expected Impact

Implementing these guidelines could:

• Reduce undernutrition and obesity rates by 10-15% in schoolchildren within 5 years, based on global school meal program outcomes.

• Improve academic performance by 5-10%, as better nutrition enhances focus (NNP economic argument: $1 invested yields $16 return).

• Strengthen local food systems, supporting 50,000 farmers through school contracts.

• Lower NCD prevalence in adulthood by fostering healthy habits early, aligning with FBDG’s preventive focus.

Sri Lankan rural School children (2)

Conclusion

Transforming school meals in Sri Lanka is a bold but achievable goal. By rooting guidelines in the NNP and FBDG, leveraging local resources, and fostering collaboration, the country can nourish its children for a healthier, more prosperous future. Let’s start today—because every meal counts.

Sources: National Nutrition Policy of Sri Lanka 2021-2030; Food Based Dietary Guidelines for Sri Lankans - Practitioner’s Handbook 2021.