Guide to choosing a healthy school lunch for primary schools

Published Nov 09, 2026

How do you choose the healthy school lunch that best suits your primary school and its pupils? Gezonde Basisschool has developed a handy decision guide for this. There are three options: Healthy lunchbox, Prepared at school, and Prepared externally.

Guide to choosing a healthy school lunch for primary schools

Healthy lunchbox

Pupils bring a lunchbox from home, prepared by their parents. Its contents align with the school's nutrition policy.

General

The school has a nutrition policy or has agreements/guidelines for a healthy lunch.
Within the agreed guidelines, parents decide for themselves what goes in the lunchbox.
The school checks the contents of the lunchboxes and contacts parents if they do not comply with the agreements.

Prepared at school

The school provides a healthy lunch for all pupils. The menu follows the Wheel of Five and the school's nutrition policy. Meals are served hot or cold.

General

Parents have one less thing to worry about.
All pupils are offered the same food.
Pupils are encouraged to try new flavors.
The school coordinates purchasing and preparation. Volunteers, parents, or pupils can help with preparation, supervision, and cleaning up.
The school has equipment such as refrigerators, freezers, an oven or microwave, crockery, and cutlery.
The school carefully accommodates dietary requirements and allergies.
The school follows food safety regulations (HACCP).

Prepared externally

A caterer or supplier handles purchasing and preparation. Meals are delivered ready to eat and/or provided individually for each child or in serving dishes for each class, hot or cold.

General

Parents have one less thing to worry about.
All pupils are offered the same food.
Pupils are encouraged to try new flavors.
The caterer, the school, and/or volunteers serve lunch and clean up afterwards.
The school checks whether the menu aligns with its nutrition policy.
The caterer accommodates dietary requirements and allergies.
The caterer follows food safety regulations.

The Gezonde Basisschool van de Toekomst website also compares the three options in terms of the following aspects: time required from the school, costs, parental involvement, equal opportunities, impact on health, and impact on sustainability.

Latest articles

Nov 10, 2026

A healthy start at primary school still needs attention

Many children look at a screen during breakfast: 35% watch TV, 26% use a mobile phone and 24% use a tablet. This is according to the Breakfast Monitor by the National School Breakfast, which officially got underway on Monday, 9 November 2026, at Jeugdtheater Hofplein, with pupils from De Provenier primary school in Rotterdam. Screen use is particularly high among primary school children.

Oct 30, 2026

‘Welcome to the Schoolyard’ campaign aims to open schoolyards to the neighbourhood

IVN and Jantje Beton recently launched the ‘Welcome to the Schoolyard’ campaign. Through this campaign, the two organisations are supporting primary schools in opening their schoolyards to local children. This gives children a pleasant, safe place to play, explore and meet one another after school. The campaign is part of the joint Healthy Schoolyards programme.

Oct 23, 2026

Smoking and alcohol in primary education

Fortunately, most primary school pupils have little interest in smoking, vaping or alcohol. Nevertheless, it is important to stay alert and prevent pupils from smoking and vaping or drinking alcohol as much as possible. Healthy School explains why addressing smoking and alcohol is important. It also provides guidance on how schools can implement smoking and alcohol prevention in a lasting way.