A scoping review of the existing evidence linking school food procurement contract type with school food provision.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

School food and catering constitutes the largest area of public sector food spend in the UK, with the potential to influence health on a population scale. This review sought to understand and map the existing evidence linking school meals contracts for food procurement with the quality of food provided and health and academic outcomes for school children.

Design

A scoping review of the peer reviewed and grey literature published between 1988 and 2023 was conducted. The strategy searched in Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC and Google, using key words related to population, exposure and outcomes.

Setting

UK and International.

Participants

School meal services.

Results

Thirty documents were included representing 16 papers, 3 books and 11 repo

SUBMITTER: Nixon N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11922227 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature