Events

This session highlights the School Meals Coalition’s Cities Feeding the Future Initiative, featuring Champion Mayors from Milan Urban Food Policy Pact cities who place school meals and sustainable food systems at the centre of their political agendas. It presents updates from The State of School Feeding Worldwide 2024 report and showcases joint efforts, including the MUFPP project Spreading Experiences and Knowledge on School Meals Programmes in ASEAN Cities, supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and AICS.

The session marks the introduction to the Coalition’s 4 initiatives on cities, data, research and sustainable financing to strengthen school meal systems worldwide. Watch the recording.

 80 Coalition member states, over 30 at Minister level, and 60 partner organizations in person as part of historical moment for school meals around the world. 

Hosted by the Government of Brazil, the 2nd Global Summit of the School Meals Coalition convened government leaders, notably ministers and other high-level representatives, and partners from across the world in Fortaleza, Brazil, to accelerate action on school meals.

Held under the high patronage of the President of Brazil and global school meals champion Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Summit spotlighted national commitments, showcased progress and solutions, and launched new initiatives to address hunger, improve education, and strengthen local food systems.

The 2nd UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4), took place in Addis Ababa in July and was co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy, assessed global progress, strengthened accountability, and accelerated action toward the 2030 Agenda. As a flagship outcome of the original Summit in 2021, the Coalition used this moment to spotlight national leadership, showcase innovations such as sustainable financing, and reinforce the role of school meals as a key driver of food systems transformation.

The School Meals Coalition lead a featured event titled 'Unlocking Sustainable Investments for Home Grown School Meals', featuring member states & partners.

The Government of Honduras & the World Food Programme are organizing the high-level annual regional meeting, XI Regional School Meals Forum for Latin America & the Caribbean. This meeting, which will bring together Ministers and officials responsible for school meals, donors, international financial institutions (IFIs), private sector, academia and UN agencies, aims to contribute to the strengthening of national programs, promote the exchange of knowledge and create opportunities for discussion among participants.

The second day will be launched the Fill the Nutrient Gap Report in Peru and Guatemala an analysis prepared jointly by the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Food Programme, on how school meals can drive improved nutrition and sustainable food systems.  In addition, the Forum it will be a key opportunity for a special meeting where the member countries of the School Meals Coalition will discuss areas of common interest and share the progress in their respective national commitments.

14:30–16:00 CET

At the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), global leaders, financial institutions, civil society and development actors are gathering at the FIBES Sevilla Exhibition and Conference Centre to reform financial systems and unlock investments for the SDGs.

School meals will be featured during the side event 'Investing in the Future: Financing School Feeding as a Cornerstone for Ending Hunger, Building Resilience and Promoting Development'. Co-hosted by the Government of Brazil, WFP Centre of Excellence, and global partners including the School Meals Coalition’s Sustainable Financing Initiative, this high-level side event will explore how sustainable and innovative financing for school meals can serve as a multi-sectoral tool to help address hunger, poverty, food systems transformation and advance development. Participants will hear insights from Brazil’s national programme and the RAES regional network, along with SFI’s global and country perspectives on mobilizing sustainable and innovative financing for school meals. The event will emphasize how scaling up financing for school meals is a critical cog in advancing the broader Financing for Development agenda.

• Attendance is limited to accredited participants, details available through this link. 

16:00–17:00 CET

In their annual Spring Webinar, hear how the Research Consortium's ‘Good Examples’ Community of Practice are supporting 50 countries in documenting their school meals programmes. The authors of three new case studies from Ecuador, Mexico, and Colombia will explore common successes and challenges as they present the key features of their school meals programmes and how they relate to public policy.

• Watch the event recording here.
  Read the case studies here.

09:30–10:45 CET

This session, organized by the World Food Programme and the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in partnership with the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC), will highlight the critical role of school meal programmes in improving nutrition, promoting school retention, and supporting local food systems across Latin America and the Caribbean. As part of Rome Nutrition Week 2025, the event will showcase good practices, share lessons learned, and discuss current challenges faced by countries in the region.

• For in-person participation at WFP contact rome-nutrition-week@fao.org.
  For online participation register through this link & enter password 388099.

This Ministerial side event, "Shaping the Future of School Nutrition: Ukraine’s Reform Experience, Global Policies and Commitments & Outcomes from the Paris Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit", convened by Ukraine, with France, Japan, UNICEF and the Rockefeller Foundation introduced a forward-looking agenda on expanding and harmonizing evidence-based school nutrition standards globally, building on the World Health Organization's (WHO) normative work and extending the scope beyond current World Health Assembly (WHA) agenda items. It promoted a systems-based, multisectoral approach to nutrition in schools—an area gaining global traction but not yet fully integrated within WHO governance discussions.

The event marked the first time school meals were discussed at the World Health Assembly, with ministerial interventions from Ukraine, UNICEF, FAO, WHO, the School Meals Coalition (represented by the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition), and numerous Member States, endorsing school meals as key investments in children's health and education.