New policy promises schoolchildren a healthy lunch

What’s happened? In June 2024, Córdoba, Argentina Mayor Daniel Passerini signed a decree mandating that municipal schools and educational facilities only serve food and beverages listed in the city’s “Healthy Food and Beverage Guidelines.” In other words, sugary drinks and junk food are out.

Who will it impact? All municipal schools in the city must adhere to the new policy, creating healthier learning spaces for roughly 15,000 students.

Why is this important? In Argentina, 40% of school-age children and adolescents are overweight or obese, according to the national nutrition and health survey. Nearly half of the country’s schoolchildren consume sugary drinks at least twice a day, a major risk factor for diseases such as diabetes and cancer. At the same time, only 44% of school-age children in Córdoba are reaching the daily recommended water intake. This policy aims to address these problems by increasing schoolchildren’s access to healthy food—and investing in the city’s future, one child at a time.

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close in 2020, Córdoba's Mayor Martín Llaryora identified a concerning trend: Online learning was  reducing the access of school-age children  to healthy, affordable food.

The city was eager to address the issue, and in 2021 began working with the Partnership for Healthy Cities’ Policy Accelerator program to improve the health of the city’s youngest residents.

The project launched with a city-wide communication campaign, “Córdoba Chooses Water” that warned against the health risks of sugary drinks, reaching residents via social media, TV, radio and posters. On social media alone, the campaign reached 450,000 people—or 30% of the city’s population.

In parallel, the city installed water fountains in municipal schools and five educational parks and held a series of community events for teachers, students and their families to reinforce the idea that replacing soda with fresh water would dramatically improve children’s health.

The campaign laid the groundwork for this year’s major policy win, which now requires that all 38 primary schools eliminate ultra-processed foods by 2026.

After signing the policy, Córdoba's Mayor Daniel Passerini said, “This new policy will help us prevent diseases and injuries—such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases—even before they start.”

Read more about the Partnership's Policy Accelerator initiative here.