Acceptance of an adapted, more sustainable school lunch menu among primary school children : liking, plate waste and non-selection under routine canteen conditionsBolha, Anja (Avtor) likingplate wastenon-selectionfood neophobiaschool lunchessustainable nutritionConcerns about palatability and children's acceptance are among the main barriers to implementing more sustainable school meals. This study examined children's hedonic and behavioural responses to an adapted, more sustainable school lunch menu, distinguishing non-selection from plate waste. In a repeated-measures study, 176 children aged 9–12 years from four Slovenian primary schools evaluated ten regular (Menu 1) and ten adapted, more sustainable lunches (Menu 2). Acceptance was assessed through hedonic scores, plate waste and non-selection, and analysed using linear and linear mixed-effects models. The published dataset includes children's hedonic scores, child characteristics (sex, age, food neophobia, food literacy, and home consumption frequency of legumes and meat), lunch composition, and plate waste and non-selection at the level of whole lunches and of individual lunch components, together with the questionnaires used for data collection.20262026-10-13 21:14:36Raziskovalni podatki189722slSlovenija (4 osnovne šole) / Slovenia (4 primary schools)2025 (šolsko leto 2024/2025) / 2025 (2024/2025 school year)