Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Requests from Primary Schools to join 'Frutta a mid-morning' by 4 October

Milan, September 25 2019 – The children chose simplicity. The survey on the satisfaction of the dishes, carried out for Milano Ristorazione by the Piepoli Institute, exhibited at Palazzo Marino, brings out the tastes of the little Milanese: simple and genuine dishes. The new 2019/2020 winter menu and the new edition of the 'Mid-morning fruit' initiative were also presented today.

For the 2018/2019 school year, the survey involved 14.544 boys and girls from the 27 primary schools that participated in the survey, identified as a representative sample of the school population. The opinion of the small Milanese on the menus was, again this year, overall positive. Pasta and pizza remain the most popular first courses. Among the pastas, the ones most loved by children are confirmed to be those of the classic, traditional and simplest recipes of Italian cuisine: for example those based on oil and parmesan or tomato and basil.

Among the second courses, meat takes first place, particularly in breaded preparations, with recipes such as Milanese loin cutlet or chicken rustichelle. Appreciation is also growing for the roast turkey with herbs, also included in the next 2019-2020 winter menu which will come into force on October 21st. As in previous years, the side dishes received less approval than the first and second courses, proving to be both necessary in a balanced and healthy diet and little loved by children. The "end of the meal" most appreciated by the children was the Sicilian red fruit juice, produced by cooperatives that manage the lands confiscated from the mafia and served on 21 March, on the occasion of the special menu created, in collaboration with Libera Terra, for the day of remembrance and commitment in memory of the innocent victims of the mafia. Among the fruit offered, children prefer bananas to apples, pears and oranges.

For the first time, the survey also involved 79 teachers, on a voluntary basis, who carry out their activities in the 103 classes participating in the survey and who 'promoted' Milano Ristorazione, with a note of merit addressed to the staff in charge of administering the meals in school canteens.

“The school canteen is not only a service that we consider fundamental for a city like Milan, but also an important educational and sharing moment – ​​comments Education Councilor Laura Galimberti -. There are children and young people who, thanks to the canteen, consume the only complete meal of the day and who can thus count on healthy and nutritious balanced foods. In particular, I want to thank Milano Ristorazione because in recent years it has demonstrated a constant ability to listen and improve, which I am sure will continue in the future, thanks to the excellent work it carries out in collaboration with the representatives of the canteen commissions, the educators, the teachers and with the same children. This openness demonstrated to the judgment of adults and children is synonymous with great transparency and seriousness."

“Measuring satisfaction with our menus and our service is fundamental for us – declares the President of Milano Ristorazione Bernardo Lucio Notarangelo – because it helps us in our task of constantly improving the quality of what we do. Every day the Canteen Commissions, made up of parents and grandparents of our young users, evaluate us through questionnaires on which we base our improvement actions. Every year the children evaluate us, through the survey that was presented today. From this year we have also involved teachers, who play a crucial role in the relationship between us and the children. In this dialogue with everyone, in which we must listen to improve, we also hope for ever greater participation in our projects, which aim to stimulate good food practices from the early years and to spread a culture of sustainability against food waste ”.

The new 2019/2020 winter menu was also presented today and features innovations and rediscoveries from previous years. Among the first courses, lasagna with organic soy sauce and courgette cream with organic spelled rigatini; second courses include hake with tomato, olives and capers, roast turkey, omelette with courgettes and organic caciotta. The side dishes include, in addition to the usual return of mashed potatoes to the winter menu, carrot logs, served before the pizza. The fair trade organic carrot cake is introduced as dessert. The presence of organic products corresponding to 37% of the overall total was confirmed, demonstrating the ever-increasing attention that Milano Ristorazione places on enhancing aspects of environmental sustainability in the selection of quality raw materials.

Finally, the 'Frutta a mid-morning' initiative is back again this year, which in the 2018/2019 school year involved 680 classes for a total of 14.622 boys and girls. The initiative of the Municipality of Milan and Milano Ristorazione, which contributed with their own extraordinary resources in the first years, for the 2019/2020 school year, will be supported by the "QuBì Program - The recipe against child poverty -", promoted by the Foundation Cariplo is supported by the Vismara Foundation, Intesa Sanpaolo, the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Foundation and the Fiera Milano Foundation, and will involve up to 75 schools and approximately 20.000 pupils from the Milanese primaries. The deadline for schools wishing to join the program is set for 4 October 2019.

“In the first years of the 'Frutta a mid-morning' project, Milano Ristorazione noted an excellent impact on the eating habits of children between 6 and 10 years old, who were thus able to develop important foundations for a better lifestyle – concludes Anna Scavuzzo, deputy mayor with responsibility for Food Policy - and after two years from the start of the program it was found that consuming fruit instead of other foods mid-morning increased the satisfaction of lunch by 11% (from 63% to 74%) and decreased the food waste by 17%. The 'Frutta a mid-morning' program also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), defined by the United Nations and on which Milan is making a significant progress for the 2030 Agenda".

Satisfaction survey 

New menu

Video Fruit mid-morning