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Busy and unstructured school environments can present challenges for pupils diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although school restaurants may be demanding, limited research hasfocused on these pupils. This study explores how pupils diagnosed with ASD or ADHD navigate the physical, social, and pedagogical environments of school meals. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in four Swedish schools, involving observations, conversations, and interviews with five 12-year-old boys and their mothers, findings show how pupils valued having a teacher orclassmate nearby during lunchtime. Crowded and narrow spaces posed motor challenges, leading to spills and comments ontable manners. Socially, pupils alternated between engaging with others and seeking solitude to escape noise and interactions.The study calls for reflection on how societal norms and environmental structures of school meals impact pupils diagnosedwith ASD or ADHD, emphasizing the role of school nurses in identifying potential issues.

Food-related challenges are common for individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). While schools are common settings for daily meals, little research has explored how students with these diagnoses experience school meals and how their eating practices interplay with organisational and cultural structures. This ethnographic study draws on five months of participant observation in four Swedish schools, including informal conversations and structured interviews with five 12-year-old boys diagnosed with ASD or ADHD, and their caregivers. Thematic analysis, informed by the social-relational model of disability, revealed challenges when the boys navigated school meals shaped by sustainability goals, frequently featuring plant-based dishes that differed markedly from meals at home. These tensions were influenced by sensory perceptions and preferences for routine, highlighting a mismatch between students’ needs and standardized school food systems. Eating difficulties varied, sometimes invisible, sometimes visible, depending on the context. At home, where minor adjustments could be made, challenges were less pronounced. In contrast, the school setting, with its structural constraints and collective solutions like standardized adjusted meals, made these difficulties more apparent. The study highlights the boundaries students encounter—sensory limits, normative expectations, and institutional rules—that shape their eating experiences in school.

In line with equal opportunities for all, free school meals are served to all pupils in Swedish compulsory schools, prepared and served by assigned school meal staff. This paper explores how school meal staff describe and approach their roles and responsibilities in relation to the school meal, and what influences their conditions to contribute to an inclusive school meal community. Based on approximately 100 hours of participant observations over five months in four schools, and interviews with five school meal staff, the analysis illustrates how school meal staff enacted inclusive practices, which included creating a safe and home-like environment in the school restaurant, aiming to provide a nutritious meal for all pupils, thereby reducing inequalities. However, participants reported a lack of collaboration with headteachers, upon whom they were highly dependent on to implement improvements. Moreover, feedback from pupils was often negative. Accordingly, the school meal staff balanced their mission by employing different approaches: some focusing on tasks related to food service, while others prioritized interactions with pupils. The findings suggest a need to acknowledge the contributions of school meal staff as important actors in building a school meal community, into which they themselves are not inherently integrated at present.

Purpose — Swedish school meals are free of charge for students, and intended to be part of schooling, with teachers sharing meals with students as part of the educational setting. While students' diverse support needs are well-studied in the classroom, little is known about how these dynamics unfold during school meals. This study aims to explore how teachers manage the school meal and how this is enacted in relation to diversity among students in the meal situation.Methodology —A qualitative design informed by ethnographic methodology was employed. Fieldwork was conducted over five months at four compulsory schools in Sweden. The empirical material comprises approximately 100 hours of participant observation and informal conversations in school restaurants while sharing meals with students and teachers, alongside semi-structured interviews with ten teachers. Data were thematically analyzed and theoretically guided by disability studies.Findings — Findings reveal a tension between teachers’ inclusive intentions and established normative expectations concerning food, behavior, and table manners. Teachers often made spontaneous adjustments in the school meal environment to support students’ diverse needs, but these efforts were rarely coordinated and documented. Furthermore, the distinction between routine pedagogical work during school meals and extra adaptations appeared blurred.Originality — This study provides novel insights into Swedish teacher’s roles in school meal settings and in relation to student diversity. It highlights the school meal as a health-related learning environment where inclusive intentions may conflict with normative expectations.