Frequently asked questions about school meals
Frequently asked questions about school meals answered by our specialists.
How involved are pupils in menu planning? How can pupils influence school meals?
Each spring, we carry out a survey in schools and educational institutions to gather important information on what pupils and students like to eat at school. The most requested meals will be on the menu for the favourite meal week in the autumn, so it really pays to take part and contribute to this survey.
In addition to that, we involve pupils in the planning of theme and holiday menus where possible.
We organise tasting sessions of new foods for small groups of pupils at the school or at our own R&D facilities. Any new menu options may be tested in a single school first. Based on pupil feedback, dishes can be added to the menu or further developed.
You can give feedback on the food to the school cafeteria staff or via the City of Helsinki feedback channel at palautteet.hel.fi. During the school year, a quick feedback device will circulate in each school cafeteria, allowing pupils to give feedback on meals immediately after lunch. All feedback is processed in our product development.
Why do the menus of Helsinki schools feature so many vegetarian dishes?
Vegetarian and fish dishes, as well as poultry-based meat products, are more environmentally friendly, which is why they are featured on the menus more than red meat. Vegetables in their different forms also bring flavour and freshness to the food – and they are quite delicious to boot!
Our menus are always planned in cooperation with our customer, the Education Division. The City of Helsinki aims to be carbon neutral by 2030, and furthermore, the City Board has outlined that the provision of meat and dairy products should be halved by 2025, so that the nutritional needs of customers are met. We will increase the number of climate-friendly foods on school and daycare menus in line with these targets.
What is the nutrient content of the vegetarian dishes, in particular their protein content?
We use a variety of plant protein sources in our vegetarian dishes. In addition to the conventional beans, chickpeas and lentils, the ingredients used include
Pulled oat
Härkis
tofu
Quorn
soybean strips and groats, and
pea and broad bean groats.
The nutrient content of the diets is assessed as a whole meal consisting of a main course, a salad with dressing, bread with a vegetable oil spread and a plant-based drink. The nutrition content of the whole meal conforms to nutrition recommendations (Eating and learning together – recommendations for school meals). The protein content also conforms to the recommendations, although it is slightly lower than in a mixed diet.
Why do the special diet options of schools have a narrower product range?
Not all school cafeterias have an opportunity to acquire a wide selection of different special diet products, as such products can easily result in wastage if the school only has a few pupils with special dietary requirements.
The school cafeteria purchases its ingredients from wholesalers, whose sales lots are often too large for the needs of a small group. We have agreed with our customer, the Education Division, that in our special diet options, we provide a product selection that is nutritionally sufficient and as diverse as possible, and that the same dishes can be featured several times in a six-week period.