European Commission: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

This study evaluates whether the EU School fruit, vegetables and milk scheme (the ‘Scheme’), over the period 2017 to 2022, was effective in increasing the consumption and demand of the products included, contributing to healthy eating habits and reconnecting children to agriculture, was relevant to the needs and wishes of European citizens, and added value to Member States’ national initiatives and priorities. The study draws on desk research, interviews, case studies and survey data.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

This study evaluates whether the EU School fruit, vegetables and milk scheme (the ‘Scheme’), over the period 2017 to 2022, was effective in increasing the consumption and demand of the products included, contributing to healthy eating habits and reconnecting children to agriculture, was relevant to the needs and wishes of European citizens, and added value to Member States’ national initiatives and priorities. The study draws on desk research, interviews, case studies and survey data.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Publications Office of the European Union, 2023

The EU School Scheme supports the distribution of fruit, vegetables, milk and milk products to schoolchildren, alongside educational activities to increase consumption and help instil healthy eating habits. The study examined the Scheme's effectiveness, based on the public consultation, the Eurobarometer survey and Member States’ evaluation reports covering the 2017-2022 period. The Scheme had a limited impact on overall healthy eating habits but benefited children with limited access to fruits and vegetables. Implementation of the Scheme varied across Member States, with some extending it to older age groups or targeting vulnerable children, and others implementing only one component of the Scheme.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development. Publications Office of the European Union, 2023.

European Parliament, 2022.

Starting with milk in the 1970s, the EU has a long history of supplying agricultural products to school children. With a dedicated EU school scheme for the 2017-2023 period, the EU is currently funding the distribution of fruit, vegetables, milk and milk products, and also educational and information measures. The main policy objective is to ensure that children's nutritional needs are met and healthy eating habits and lifestyles are established. The European Parliament is scrutinising the implementation of the school scheme with a report on the subject that will be considered by its Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development in the autumn of 2022.

European Parliament: Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services, Vroonhof, P., Snijders, J., Clarke, M. and Winter, T. European Parliament, 2022.

Starting with milk in the 1970s, the EU has a long history of supplying agricultural products to school children. With a dedicated EU school scheme for the 2017-2023 period, the EU is currently funding the distribution of fruit, vegetables, milk and milk products, and also educational and information measures. The main policy objective is to ensure that children's nutritional needs are met and healthy eating habits and lifestyles are established. The European Parliament is scrutinising the implementation of the school scheme with a report on the subject that will be considered by its Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development in the autumn of 2022.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, Bruckmayer, M., Picken, N. and Flemons, L., Publications Office of the European Union, 2021.

This research note was produced as part of the European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC). Established in 2013, EPIC monitors key and innovative developments in child and family policy across the European Union (EU). The platform hosts resources to support Member States (MS) in the implementation of the 2013 European Commission Recommendation, Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage (European Commission 2013). The Recommendation’s overarching objective is ‘combating child poverty and social exclusion and promoting child well-being’ (European Commission 2013).

European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2017.

As eating habits form early in life, children and adolescents are one of the major focus groups of the JRC's nutrition and health-related work. On World Health Day, let's take a look at the recent achievements in this area and how this work...

European Parliament, 2016.

During the March 2016 plenary session, a debate and vote will be held on the draft regulation establishing a new aid scheme for the supply of fruit and milk in schools. If adopted, the scheme will bring new impetus to efforts to encourage school children to eat healthily.

European Parliament, 2015.

During the 27 May 2015 plenary session, Members will be asked to vote on a report prepared by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, amending the European Commission's legislative proposal on a new single scheme for fruit and milk in schools. The proposal aims to merge two separate existing schemes, one for the distribution of milk, and the other, fruit and vegetables, in schools. However, the plan remains uncertain since the Commission has put it on hold pending an evaluation of the earlier schemes. There is also disagreement on the legal basis of the draft regulation between the Council, on the one hand, and the Commission and the Parliament, on the other.

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Publications Office, 2015.

This publication contains 341 country factsheets on national school food policies in the EU282 plus Norway and Switzerland. The series was developed from a mapping exercise to objectively describe European school food policies in all their facets, the results of which have been summarised in a JRC Science & Policy Report by Storcksdieck genannt Bonsmann et al.3 To provide further insight into the various school food policies in place across Europe, these factsheets answer questions such as: What are the common objectives of school food policies in Europe? Which nutrient-based standards are used for lunch-time meals? Which countries restrict food marketing in schools, and how? Country by country, the factsheets give details about policy objectives, evaluation measures, food- and nutrientbased standards or guidelines, restrictions on vending services and food marketing in schools, and whether food and nutrition education is a mandatory part of the national curriculum. The information is complemented by key figures on population size and the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in different age groups.

European Commission, Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, 2014.

The purpose of this EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity is to: demonstrate the shared commitment of EU Member States 1 to addressing childhood obesity; set out priority areas for action and a possible toolbox of measures for consideration; and propose ways of collectively keeping track of progress. The Action Plan recognizes and respects Member States’ roles and freedom of action in counteracting childhood obesity.

European Parliament, 2014.

Impact Assessment (SWD (2014) 28 final, SWD (2014) 29 final (summary)) of a Commission proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) n° 1308/2013 and Regulation (EU) n° 1306/2013 as regards the aid scheme for the supply of fruit and vegetables, bananas and milk in the educational establishments (COM (2014) 32 final).

Joint Research Centre: Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Nelson, M., Wollgast, J., Caldeira, S., Storcksdieck genannt Bonsmann, S. et al., Publications Office, 2014.

Childhood obesity is on the rise in Europe. Schools are considered a protected environment where children should learn healthy diet and lifestyle habits early on. To this end, Member States have developed policies to guide school food provision among other important aspects. At a JRC workshop entitled 'School Food and Nutrition in Europe: policies, interventions and their impact', participants from national ministries, academia, and non-governmental organisations reviewed and discussed the current state of European school food policy, assessed knowledge gaps and suggested promising ways forward.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Publications Office, 2013.

The evaluation report assesses the SMS’s effectiveness, efficiency, coherence, relevance and EU value added and covers the evaluation results for the school years 2004/2005 to 2011/2012. The scale of the SMS in terms of total amount of subsidised products and total expenditure varies substantially over the years. It amounted to about EUR 110 million (68.86 million EU funds and 41.44 national top-ups) in the school year 2011/2012. The absolute number of participating children in the school year 2011/2012 was about 20 million. The quantity of distributed products in the school year 2011/2012 amounted to 385,000 tons of milk equivalent. The individual national and regional school milk schemes are very different with respect to relative participation of school children and distributed quantities. National contributions ('top-ups') are voluntary and vary strongly across the Member States. The average uptake of the available EU subsidies reached approximately 17% in the evaluation period. Regarding the type of products distributed in the SMS, drinking milk is mostly preferred, while cheese amounts to approximately 20% of milk equivalent provided in the SMS.

European Commission: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Publications Office, 2012.

The scheme, agreed by the Council in 2008 and fully supported by the European Parliament, is an important EU-wide initiative providing fruit and vegetables to schoolchildren. Its main objective is to increase the low consumption of fruit and vegetables among children by durably increasing the share of those products in their diets when their eating habits are being formed.

European Court of Auditors, Publications Office, 2011.

For over 30 years the EU has been subsiding the price of milk products in schools. Recently it launched a second scheme, this time for the distribution of fruit. The Court has carried out a joint audit of the effectiveness of both schemes. In this report, the Court notes the very limited effectiveness of the School Milk Scheme, which is mainly impaired by a significant deadweight effect and a poorly exploited educational strategy. However, the report draws on observation of a number of good practices, and on the promising start made by schemes to distribute fruit free of charge, to show that solutions are available.