On 13 March 2025, ICLEI will celebrate International School Meals Day with two discussion sessions, one in Brussels (Belgium), and the other at the European Parliament in Strasbourg (France).
At the invitation of Member of the European Parliament and representative of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development Dario Nardella, ICLEI Europe will accompany a group of students to the Parliament in Strasbourg on 13 March. The provision of free, healthy school meals and food education to all children in Europe will be at the centre of the discussion with the Mayor of Strasbourg, Jeanne Barseghian, Parliamentarians from all political colours, and Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. On the same day, a second ICLEI delegation will meet with Glenn Micallef, European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, in Brussels at the headquarters of the European Commission.
A highlight of both events will be the presentation of ICLEI's petition for “Free healthy school meals for all children”, which has achieved more than 111,000 signatures. The petition is addressed to the European Commission and EU Member States, calling on them to support the pioneering work of cities and regions in providing healthy and sustainable school meals.
In Strasbourg, the student group from Markgräfler Gymnasium Müllheim (Germany), will take on the task of being the voice for >90 million pupils and students going to school and university in Europe by using the opportunity to ask politicians questions and report on their experiences with school nutrition. Both meetings will provide an opportunity to discuss the future of food policies with several high-level policy makers. The gatherings represent an important step towards advocating for sustainable food systems, connecting policy discussions with real-life initiatives, and reinforcing the essential link between food, health, and education.
The two-hour session in Strasbourg can be followed online via livestream. More information and the registration link for the livestream can be found here.