Optimizing School Food Supply: Integrating Environmental, Health, Economic, and Cultural Dimensions of Diet Sustainability with Linear Programming

Patricia Eustachio Colombo, Emma Patterson, Liselotte Schäfer Elinder, Anna Karin Lindroos, Ulf Sonesson, Nicole Darmon, Alexandr Parlesak, Patricia Eustachio Colombo, Emma Patterson, Liselotte Schäfer Elinder, Anna Karin Lindroos, Ulf Sonesson, Nicole Darmon, Alexandr Parlesak

Abstract

There is great potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) from public-sector meals. This paper aimed to develop a strategy for reducing GHGE in the Swedish school food supply while ensuring nutritional adequacy, affordability, and cultural acceptability. Amounts, prices and GHGE-values for all foods and drinks supplied to three schools over one year were gathered. The amounts were optimized by linear programming. Four nutritionally adequate models were developed: Model 1 minimized GHGE while constraining the relative deviation (RD) from the observed food supply, Model 2 minimized total RD while imposing stepwise GHGE reductions, Model 3 additionally constrained RD for individual foods to an upper and lower limit, and Model 4 further controlled how pair-wise ratios of 15 food groups could deviate. Models 1 and 2 reduced GHGE by up to 95% but omitted entire food categories or increased the supply of some individual foods by more than 800% and were deemed unfeasible. Model 3 reduced GHGE by up to 60%, excluded no foods, avoided high RDs of individual foods, but resulted in large changes in food-group ratios. Model 4 limited the changes in food-group ratios but resulted in a higher number of foods deviating from the observed supply and limited the potential of reducing GHGE in one school to 20%. Cost was reduced in almost all solutions. An omnivorous, nutritionally adequate, and affordable school food supply with considerably lower GHGE is achievable with moderate changes to the observed food supply; i.e., with Models 3 and 4. Trade-offs will always have to be made between achieving GHGE reductions and preserving similarity to the current supply.

Keywords: Agenda 2030; children; greenhouse gas emissions; nutrition; school meals; sustainability.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average relative deviation (ARD) in relation to GHGE reduction (by steps of 10%) when minimizing total relative deviation (TRD) and applying constraints on nutritional adequacy, relative GHGE reductions, and additionally constraining the relative deviation (RD) of individual food items from observed food supply to a range between −75%/+100 and −75%/+200% (Model 3). GHGE, greenhouse gas emissions. The RD of the optimized solutions refers to the observed food supply during the school year 2015/2016.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of GHGE reduction (Panels A–C, −20%; D–F, −30%; G–I: −40%), limited relative food deviation (RD) (Panels A,D,G, unconstrained (Model 2); B,E,H, maximum RD: −75%/+100% (Model 3); Panels C,F,I, as Model 3 plus maximum allowed differences between relative changes of food groups (RFGDs) of 30% (Model 4) on relative changes of food groups in School 1. All provided solutions accommodate the nutritional guidelines for Swedish school meals [32].

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