Sustainable Food Practices And Policy Effectiveness In School Managed Canteens
Christine V. Cadiente
Discipline: others in business and management
Abstract:
Sustainable food practices
involve behaviors that reduce
environmental impact, promote social
equity, and support economic
sustainability, especially critical in
public school settings. Despite their
importance, there is limited research
on how these practices are
implemented in Philippine public
school canteens. Existing studies often
emphasize food safety while
overlooking sustainability, with little
focus on gender-responsive training or
alignment between policy and practice.
Additionally, gaps remain in
understanding the challenges and
enablers of implementing school
nutrition policies. This study aimed to
assess the implementation of
sustainable food practices and
nutrition policy in public school
canteens in Cluster 1 of the Division of
Quirino. A descriptive-correlational
research design was used, with survey
data collected from canteen managers
in Diffun, Saguday, and Cabarroguis.
Results showed that 78.6% of canteen
managers were female and 28.6% had
no relevant training, with most training
centred on food safety rather than
sustainability. While nutrition policy
implementation was reported as high,
barriers such as inadequate
infrastructure and limited resources
were evident. The findings highlight
the need for continuous, gendersensitive training and stronger
institutional support. Improving
training and resources can enhance
sustainable food environments in
schools, ultimately benefiting student
health, community well-being, and
long-term environmental goals.
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