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In this paper, the authors present the organization of school nutrition in the primary school in Croatia and in some European Union countries and presents the main findings of researches which explored the importance of school meals for all children, especially those of lower socioeconomic status. This paper points out that school meals have a positive effect on children's academic success, which reflects in better school performance, especially in mathematics and reading. The socializing role of the school meal is explained in terms of the contribution of school nutrition in learning social skills and bringing students closer. The paper emphasizes the health aspect of nutritionally balanced and healthy school meals, which refers to the prevention and alleviation of obesity of students and other chronic diseases. In particular, the social aspect of school meals is explained, which play a significant role in the prevention of child poverty and social exclusion, which was further demonstrated during the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the paper presents the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the distribution of school meals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]