###### Abstract  
The School Meal Index-Lunch Evaluation (SMI-LE) has been developed to assess school lunch quality. The aim of this study was to use the SMI-LE index for a comparative analysis of the quality of school meals planned in primary schools in Warsaw and Zagreb. The SMI-LE index was used to assess 4-week school meals in both cities. The collected menus were analyzed both in terms of overall quality as an average of points over 4 weeks and in terms of individual categories. According to the SMI-LE index, 4-week school lunches were rated on average 64 and 62 points out of a total of 140 points, in Warsaw and Zagreb, respectively. The majority of school lunches in Zagreb were classified as medium quality, while in Warsaw, over 50% were classified as good quality. Aspects that could be improved include an increase in vegetable availability and variety, limiting the meat dishes, and providing alternatives for children on vegetarian diets, as well as the ability to choose portion sizes. Polish schools need to change their approach to school meals. Following the example of schools in Zagreb, these could be one-course hot meals but with a wider range of raw vegetables and fruits. The current findings also highlight the importance of future research to develop standards for school food policies and investigate whether such a school food program could improve the eating habits and nutritional status of primary school children in the long term. Using the SMI-LE index to design new school meals could be a good solution to improve the quality of school meals. sustainability; school lunch; quality assessment; School Meal Index-Lunch Evaluation (SMI-LE); food +
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steady increase in the incidence of overweight and obesity among Croatian and Polish children, and a worsening of this situation after the COVID-19 pandemic [6]. Research suggests that providing healthy meals in schools can help reduce the risk of diet-related diseases in children and, consequently, improve the quality of life of adults [2; 7]. As shown by [PERSON] et al. [8], eating school meals can encourage the consumption of unprocessed or minimally processed foods. In addition, children who ate school meals had significantly lower energy intake than children who did not eat school meals. Therefore, controlling the quality of school meals and adapting them to current guidelines and nutritional recommendations seems to be an important element of public health policy. Although a menu is defined as a set of dishes for a planned meal, it can be a tool for developing healthy eating habits, preserving the food environment and culture, and providing nutrition education [9]. There are general criteria for planning school menus, but there is no consensus on the best protocol for evaluating them. The most commonly used quality assessment of menus is often based on outdated criteria and does not take into account the proven environmental impact of meals [9; 10]. In response to these needs, the School Meal Index-Lunch Evaluation (SMI-LE) has been developed [10]. This tool for measuring the quality of school meals takes into account health and sustainability issues. The idea of sustainable diets includes, among others, a low environmental impact, which can be achieved by increasing plant-origin food consumption while reducing meat and meat product consumption. This general concept was expressed in the SMI-LE index by (1) an increased proportion of plant products, like legumes, vegetables, and whole grains; (2) a limited proportion of meat and meat products; and (3) the provision of varied portions to decrease food waste. Low SMI-LE values confirm the low nutritional value of planned meals [10], so this indicator can be a good predictor of the quality of school meals in general. The SMI-LE can also be used as a checklist for evaluating and planning school meals, both by those responsible for school meals and by inspectors.