Eating at School

Most students eat at least one meal at school every day. Creating a supportive and positive environment for student eating can contribute to their overall well-being.  Students thrive at mealtimes when they have enough time to eat, they can eat food items sent from home without comment, mindful eating is encouraged with minimal distractions, and they can socialize with peers.

Follow the 4-step process to take a planned and comprehensive approach to work on this topic.

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Getting Started  

• Do students have enough time to eat?
• Have you considered the various roles and responsibilities related to food and eating at school? Hint: See the Guiding Principles
• Do you have lunch monitors (adults or students) and are they provided any guidance, tips or training? 

‍Bright Ideas

• Switching the breaks so that the students go outside first and then eat their food will allow them to have more calm mealtimes so they are not rushing to get outside to play.
• Consider offering guidance, tips and/or training for lunch monitors.  Hint: see Tips for Lunch Monitors
• Respect students’ decisions about their eating. It’s the student’s role to decide how much food they eat, in what order. 
• Save nutrition education for the curriculum lessons, not during mealtimes. Allow the students to enjoy their food without judgement and pressure.

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