In Montessori’s vision, meals represent a fundamental aspect of the pedagogical project and must aim at promoting autonomy while eating as well as a healthy relationship with food.​

Lunchtime at school therefore represents a true educational moment, where children experiment their own “know how to do something” and their own “know how to do it by themselves”. But during mealtimes they can also experiment a privileged moment of connection: through the exchange with their classmates, especially older ones, the child learns, through imitation, how to use cutlery and how to behave appropriately at the table. Engaging with others also favours mutual help and exchange.

During lunchtime, as well as during other academic activities throughout the day, the teacher is a reassuring yet discreet presence, who encourages the kid to eat autonomously, to try new or less enjoyed foods and who shares sanitary rules and the schedule to respect. Throughout constant discussion and cooperation with families, the school heavily contributes to take down the children’s rejection towards certain foods and to enlarge their food choices, directing them towards more nutrient and healthier foods.

Also tableware contributes to the pedagogical project because on the tables of M. Montessori International Centre there are no plastic dishes, but ceramic ones and glass pitchers. This is because in Montessori’s vision, the child must learn from an early age how to use delicate materials which could break, and therefore how to measure their movements based on the object they have in front of them.