Schools in Rijeka ban bakery products as it transforms menus

From the next term, primary school students in the Croatian city of Rijeka will no longer be served doughnuts, sweet buns, pizza, and other bakery products as part of their school snacks.

These items will be replaced with healthier options such as oats with honey and cinnamon, probiotic yoghurt, vegetable omelettes, or whole-grain bread with tuna and cottage cheese spread, daily Novi list reported.

The city of Rijeka is introducing an enhanced model for school snacks, aiming to provide healthier and more varied meals to all primary students.

In a bid to ensure children have access to nutritious, well-balanced meals, Rijeka’s Head of Education and Youth Affairs, Iva Erceg, explained that a specialised working group comprising nutritionists and school representatives developed new menus.

Following this, a centralised purchasing system for ingredients was implemented to streamline supply across schools.

The initiative seeks to elevate the quality of school meals by offering snacks rich in vitamins, minerals, and energy, essential for growth and academic success.

The new model focuses on nutritious ingredients, with menus that can be adapted seasonally to provide optimal benefits.

Developed by nutritionists and health specialists from the local health authority, the new menus introduce items like oats, plant-based drinks, muesli, rice and millet with milk, and fresh fruit, nuts, and dried fruits daily to enhance dietary variety and encourage healthy eating habits.

The city has initiated a centralised procurement process to ensure high-quality ingredients for all schools and simplify administrative tasks.

The goal is to standardise, regulate, and sustain school meals, thereby improving nutritional quality for all Rijeka’s primary students.

This procurement, estimated at nearly €1.6 million over a year, is aimed at supporting students, parents, and schools, with the hope that Rijeka may set a benchmark for other Croatian cities in promoting healthy school meals.

To support this change, the city held a public consultation on procurement documentation, with the bidding deadline set for December 13. The project also reaffirms Rijeka’s dedication to children’s health and well-being, setting an example of proactive health-focused policies within the education system.

In addition to providing nutritious snacks, Rijeka has introduced a new extracurricular programme on health education, which teaches students about balanced diets, mental health, physical activity, and substance abuse prevention.

This programme, launched this school year, includes themes like healthy lifestyles, proper nutrition, and physical activity, aimed at promoting lifelong healthy habits. In the first module, students learn about essential nutrients, dangers of poor diets, healthy meal composition, and the risks of energy drinks and food supplements.

These lessons, taught through hands-on activities, will help students acquire knowledge and skills to develop lasting healthy habits.

Last year, a survey among Year 7 students revealed that 50% believe schools should teach more about healthy eating and food preparation.

This input helped shape the health education initiative, reinforcing Rijeka’s commitment to improving children’s health literacy and encouraging healthy life choices.