A Tasmanian principal has credited leaving the lunchbox at home with better school attendance and behaviour.
In a recent trial, hundreds of students at three Tasmanian schools were invited to a hot sit-down meal every day for four weeks.
Warrane Primary School acting principal Sarah Hoban said attendance was the first notable improvement.
"It has specifically increased with some children who have very low attendance," she said.
"For example, we have one student who had attended less than 20 days previous to the lunch program … and then the four weeks, [he came] every single day, all day.
"His attendance has improved about 80 per cent.
"We've seen a lot more student engagement in the classrooms, a lot more attention, focus and drive with their learning."
Last year, the Tasmanian Canteen Association's Julie Dunbabin travelled on a Churchill Fellowship, comparing the lunch customs of schools around the world.
She found in most countries children sat down to daily hot meals.
"The food that's being provided isn't just a sandwich, it's a food that's been nutritionally looked at so that it sustains their energy levels and their ability for their body to maintain that stamina throughout their learning day," Ms Hoban said.
"It's improved the culture of enjoying food and sitting and having conversations and talking and not just sitting with their friends."
With Healthy Tasmania funding, Ms Dunbabin organised a trial at schools with adequate kitchens — Warrane, Richmond Primary and Triabunna District School.
With a budget of about $4 per meal, the schools collaborated on a menu that would attract even the fussiest eaters.
"We only had 86 students on the program on day one — by the end of the program we had 119," Warrane Primary's canteen manager, Kathy McInerney, said.
"They liked the variety, they liked the fact it was hot and I think they liked the fact they could eat together.
"There were families and individual children who tried things for the first time."
Ms Hoban said students were more focused in class after a nutritious lunch, and sitting down to the same meal en masse removed social anxieties.
"They're all having the same meals so there's none of that stigma around what's in their lunch box or how much is in their lunch box," she said.
The results of the trial will now be examined by the Menzies Research Institute, which will report back to the Canteen Association early next year.
