As of 2022, there is no national school meal programme in Georgia.
Health and nutrition contents are transversely incorporated through different curriculum subjects in schools.
School Food
As of 2022, there is no national school meal programme in Georgia. Food provision is managed independently by each school, depending on their conditions, resources and infrastructure (e.g. kitchen facilities, designated space for consuming meals, storage). Examples of the most common school food modalities include buffet-style meals (prepared outside the school) or snacks sold by food vendors within or outside school premises
In 2015, the Ministry of Health developed a set of nutrition guidelines for those who provide meals for schoolchildren. Such guidelines are recommendations to be followed by all school food providers in the country.
In 2017, the government approved a technical regulation for the organization and assurance of the nutritional value of meals provided in preschools. The standards are compulsory and apply to all early and pre-school institutions independently of their legal form and type.
- Guidelines on healthy and safe meals at schools
- Nutrition and nutrition value norms in early and preschool institutions
The main characteristic of the nutrition guidelines for school food are summarized below:
| Users of the guidance | Food providers, school administrators |
| Type of school food | Meals prepared and sold inside schools |
| Objectives |
|
| Basis | Food and nutrient-based |
| Food groups covered | Fruits, vegetables, protein-rich foods (lean beef, fish, poultry, eggs, walnuts and legumes) cereals and starchy products, milk and dairy products, foods with high content of fat, sugar and salt |
| Guidance included |
|
As there are no compulsory food or meal standards, each school can decide on the food provided in an autonomous and independent manner, depending on their conditions, resources and infrastructure (e.g. kitchen conditions and facilities to provide hot meals, enough space to accommodate schoolchildren in the canteen, etc). This might cause variability in the nutrition quality and delivery of meals from one school to another (e.g. private vs public schools).
Implementation
There is no specific implementation plan for “the guidelines on healthy and safe meals at schools” in Georgia. Once these recommendations were published in 2015, they were disseminated to all schools through resources centres managed by the Ministry of Education in each region of the country.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The Ministry of Education has a monitoring unit that is tasked to supervise the food processes in schools. However, as the nutrition recommendations are voluntary, there is no enforcement or compliance mechanism to control their application. The national food safety agency also monitors aspects related to hygiene and food safety.
- Healthy and safe meals at schools
- Norms of meals organizations and nutritional value of diet in early and preschool education institutions
- Georgia's food-based dietary guidelines
- Resolution no. 487 of the Georgian Government on Nutritional Standards in Pre-school Educational Facilities (2017)
- Resolution no. 78 of 1/15/2014 on Sanitary Rules for Organizing Nutrition in Pre-school Facilities for Children
School-Based Food and Nutrition Education
In Georgia, health and nutrition contents are incorporated across various subject curriculums. Nutrition contents are also included in various extracurricular initiatives.
| Main targets |
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| Main educators |
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| Integration within the school curriculum | Transversally across various subjects:
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| Learning approach | Mostly knowledge-based. |
| Learning objectives relevant to health and nutrition | Natural sciences: the student should be able to develop the basic skills of a healthy and safe lifestyle. Biology: the student should be able to understand the composition of food (organic and inorganic substances, vitamins), its nutritional value and energy content and discuss the importance of each component. Me and society: the student should be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle (personal hygiene, healthy nutrition, sports activities). Our Georgia: the student should be able to understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle (personal hygiene, healthy nutrition, traditional and current sports activities) and follow it. Citizenship: the student should be able to discuss the need for personal hygiene and a healthy lifestyle for both their own well-being and harmonious coexistence with society, and analyze the difficulties encountered in maintaining them (healthy nutrition, age characteristics) and plan their own physical activities and healthy nutrition habits. Physical education and sports: the student should be able to understand and implement the basic elements/principles of a healthy lifestyle (hygiene, physical activity, proper nutrition, bad habits, safety rules, daily routine) by engaging in physical activity and in fun moving games. |
Development
Primary and secondary education is centralized in Georgia. The Ministry of Education develops the National Education Plan with curriculum standards to be followed by all schools in terms of skills and knowledge that students should achieve in each grade and education level. However, schools can adapt the general curriculum depending on rural or urban conditions, regional goals, and other priorities. The general curriculum is revised regularly. It was revised in 2016 for primary grades (1 to 6), in 2017 for secondary levels (7 to 9) and in 2021 for higher levels (10 to 12).
Specifically, the health and nutrition contents are developed mainly following a knowledge-based approach, relying mostly on lectures and presentations, dissemination of messages and information materials.
Implementation
Subject teachers are the main implementers of the health and nutrition aspects integrated within the formal curriculum. For this, they make use of the subject matter teaching materials and guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education. However, there is no training specific to food and nutrition education available for teachers.
The main topics addressed include the relationship between diet and health or disease, food groups and their nutrient composition, the digestive system, and food safety and hygiene aspects. Examples of common nutrition learning activities include: class-based discussions, basic nutrition facts quizzes, completion of food journals, participation in banner and advertising posters competitions and role-playing.
Parents' involvement in the food education of their children depends on the specific policy that the school has in place.
Regarding the extracurricular health and nutrition initiatives, the main implementers include the national food agency, UN agencies, NGOs, private companies, medical practitioners, and professional education centers. Examples of such initiatives include:
- The “School Doctor’s Hour”, which integrates topics of proper nutrition and healthy lifestyles (e.g.: children have the assignment of preparing their own lunches for one day).
- The project “PROFILES” from the seven framework programme (EU), which involves learning experiences with food through science experiments (e.g.: studying the chemical compounds and properties of chocolate).
- Conferences for schoolchildren about healthy food (e.g.: the teachers and classes have to submit their own research related to healthy nutrition).
Monitoring and Evaluation
As nutrition and health education in Georgia is integrated transversally in different subjects, the assessment of food competencies and achievements is done as part of the specific evaluation of each subject (e.g: examinations, activities-in-school, homework, etc).