Early childhood is a critical window for establishing healthy eating habits that shape health and well-being across the life course. Dietary patterns formed during childhood and adolescence are strongly associated with the risk of non-communicable diseases later in life, making schools and kindergartens key settings for health promotion. Within JA PreventNCD, pilot interventions in Croatia and Slovenia are addressing food environments through integrated, participatory and community-based approaches.
The main objective of croatian implementing sites is to put into practice and evaluate an integrated approach to address physical activity and food environments as main determinants of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in learning environments. Intervention into the school and preschool setting are based on activities from the national health promotion program Healthy Living. Two locations were specifically selected: Elementary School Milka Trnina in Zagreb County and Kindergarten Siget in the City of Zagreb.
Kindergarten Siget was selected as implementation site for its size, diverse socioeconomic profile, and strong institutional and community capacity. Work is being developed by a multidisciplinary core group, including kindergarten staff, public health professionals, local authorities, as well as a teacher and a parent representative, ensuring effective coordination and community engagement.
Healthy eating in Croatian schools
A participatory needs assessment with children, parents, and community members informed the definition of 4 priority areas, of which 2 are specifically focused on eating habits: “Promote a culture of shared meals and educate children and parents about healthy nutrition and limiting sweets and unhealthy snacks” and “Actively involve parents and families in joint physical and healthy eating activities”. Kindergarten Siget has just completed the planning phase and the implementation is planned to start in February 2026.
Elementary School Milka Trnina in Križ, including its Novoselec branch school, has also been selected to demonstrate how school meals can be improved with the involvement of students and the community, and the usage of a school garden for both learning and growing fresh ingredients. In this school meals are prepared in the fully equipped main school kitchen and transported by van property of the local kindergarten to Novoselec branch school.
Quality improves without pause under the steering of the monthly school nutrition committee meetings, focusing on freshly cooked meals. According to the needs analysis of all stakeholders involved, a greater student involvement in planning school meals,as well as the education of all stakeholders, is a priority, which is already being implemented through the National School Breakfast Week and sessions with doctors, nutritionists, and other experts.
In Slovenia, the aim is to improve the dietary habits of children and adolescents through coordinated education and joint action of all key stakeholders. By encouraging healthier food choices both in kindergartens/schools and at home, the risk of non-communicable diseases diminishes. The pilot project involves children, kindergarten and school staff (educators, teachers, meal organizers, and chefs), as well as parents and caregivers from four municipalities in the Mežica Valley: Črna na Koroškem, Mežica, Prevalje, and Ravne na Koroškem.
Training session “Organised Nutrition in Kindergartens/Schools and New Challenges in the Field of Nutrition” in the Slovenian pilot
Challenges most often arise when children show selective eating behaviors; therefore, the role of adults is important in encouraging children to explore foods without pressure, through role modeling and a consistent approach. Eating habits are formed already at home, and good practices from kindergartens or schools can be successfully transferred to the family environment and vice versa.
To support these efforts, an online survey has explored parental attitudes toward children’s food environments, and an informational leaflet has been prepared to highlight healthy eating and the shared role of parents and kindergartens in shaping good habits. Training sessions have been delivered for preschool teachers and kindergarten and school staff, covering professional nutrition guidelines, cross-sectoral collaboration, shared responsibility, and the exchange of good practices.
Multidisciplinary teams in Croatia and Slovenia are developing practical handbooks to support the implementation of health-promoting activities in schools and kindergartens. In Croatia, the handbook is based on experiences from the JA PreventNCD implementation sites and previous national initiatives, while in Slovenia it builds on lessons from the Mežica Valley pilot and previous local practices. Both handbooks will provide concrete guidance for educational settings and will be disseminated nationwide. Further training for parents, caregivers, and school staff is planned to complement these tools and reinforce their impact.
Next steps include ongoing stakeholder education, alignment of menus with national dietary guidelines, resource mapping, and the further development of school gardens. These activities aim to strengthen the engagement of children, families, and communities, support the continuous improvement of meals, and foster healthier food environments that reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases.
Authors
Helena Križan, Maja Lang Morović, Ivana Šimić
Croatian Institute of Public Health, Croatia
Urška Polanc, Matej Ivartnik, Neda Hudopisk, Brigita Ploder Hočevar, Helena Pavlič
National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia
Lluís Pascual
Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana (Fisabio), Spain