An Intervention to Promote Sustainable and Inclusive Eating Behaviors in Primary and Preschools in Italy: A Pilot Study of the SoS-4-SoUPS Project
6 affiliations
- 1IUSS Cognitive Neuroscience (ICoN) Center, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- 2PlanEat Società Benefit, 20059 Milan, Italy
- 3Cooperativa Rosa Dei Venti, 27049 Pavia, Italy
- 4Department of Science, Technology and Society, Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- 5Department of Political and Social Sciences, Università Degli Studi Di Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- 6Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory of Pavia Institute, Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Food waste contributes to environmental, social, economic, and nutritional losses. In this context, school canteens represent a key setting for shaping sustainable and healthy early dietary behaviors. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the implementation of a combined digital meal-planning and educational intervention and to explore changes in plate waste, food-related responses, and perceived inclusivity and involvement. Methods: An uncontrolled pre-post pilot study in one preschool and one primary school in a single municipality was conducted. The intervention combined a digital lunch-planning tool, enabling menu and portion selection, with educational workshops on food and sustainability. Plate waste was weighed during two menu-matched weeks, one before and one after implementation. Parent and child questionnaires assessing dietary habits, emotional responses to food and food waste images, perceived inclusivity and involvement, and well-being were recorded. Results: Of 159 enrolled pupils, 155 registered on the platform and 152 used it at least once. Overall, 82.3% of meals were pre-planned through the platform. Questionnaires were completed at baseline by 93 participants and at follow-up by 60, with 48 participating at both time points. Exploratory analyses identified differences over time in some emotional-response ratings and higher parent-rated inclusivity and involvement at follow-up. Across the two observation weeks, measured plate waste decreased from 0.066 to 0.038 kg per meal attendance, an observed reduction of 42.1%. As portion sizes could be reduced or omitted, lower discarded quantities could be related to both increased food consumption and/or reduction in the amount of food prepared. Conclusions: High platform uptake supports the operational feasibility of implementing this combined programme in the participating schools. The observed differences are exploratory: the uncontrolled design, brief waste-measurement periods, and questionnaire attrition preclude causal attribution. Controlled studies with repeated measurements and longer follow-up are needed to evaluate effectiveness and transferability.
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BibTeX
@article{vedani2026intervention,
title = {{An Intervention to Promote Sustainable and Inclusive Eating Behaviors in Primary and Preschools in Italy: A Pilot Study of the SoS-4-SoUPS Project}},
author = {Anna Vedani and Maria Jose Habib and Erica DellaBianca and Lucia Rogledi and Nicola Lamberti and Giacomo Fontana and Carola Ricci and Giulia Mattavelli},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/nu18213700},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3700},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - An Intervention to Promote Sustainable and Inclusive Eating Behaviors in Primary and Preschools in Italy: A Pilot Study of the SoS-4-SoUPS Project
AU - Anna Vedani
AU - Maria Jose Habib
AU - Erica DellaBianca
AU - Lucia Rogledi
AU - Nicola Lamberti
AU - Giacomo Fontana
AU - Carola Ricci
AU - Giulia Mattavelli
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/07
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18213700
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/21/3700
AB - Background/Objectives: Food waste contributes to environmental, social, economic, and nutritional losses. In this context, school canteens represent a key setting for shaping sustainable and healthy early dietary behaviors. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the implementation of a combined digital meal-planning and educational intervention and to explore changes in plate waste, food-related responses, and perceived inclusivity and involvement. Methods: An uncontrolled pre-post pilot study in one preschool and one primary school in a single municipality was conducted. The intervention combined a digital lunch-planning tool, enabling menu and portion selection, with educational workshops on food and sustainability. Plate waste was weighed during two menu-matched weeks, one before and one after implementation. Parent and child questionnaires assessing dietary habits, emotional responses to food and food waste images, perceived inclusivity and involvement, and well-being were recorded. Results: Of 159 enrolled pupils, 155 registered on the platform and 152 used it at least once. Overall, 82.3% of meals were pre-planned through the platform. Questionnaires were completed at baseline by 93 participants and at follow-up by 60, with 48 participating at both time points. Exploratory analyses identified differences over time in some emotional-response ratings and higher parent-rated inclusivity and involvement at follow-up. Across the two observation weeks, measured plate waste decreased from 0.066 to 0.038 kg per meal attendance, an observed reduction of 42.1%. As portion sizes could be reduced or omitted, lower discarded quantities could be related to both increased food consumption and/or reduction in the amount of food prepared. Conclusions: High platform uptake supports the operational feasibility of implementing this combined programme in the participating schools. The observed differences are exploratory: the uncontrolled design, brief waste-measurement periods, and questionnaire attrition preclude causal attribution. Controlled studies with repeated measurements and longer follow-up are needed to evaluate effectiveness and transferability.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -