Publications and resources

This paper explores the role schools can play in addressing adolescent malnutrition. It highlights how school health programs, particularly those focusing on nutrition, can combat malnutrition's effects on adolescent growth and development, ensuring healthier future generations and improved educational outcomes.

Baltag V, Sidaner E, Bundy D, Guthold R, Nwachukwu C, Engesveen K et al.

This research explores the synergy between deworming and school meal programs in supporting the recovery of education and health post-COVID-19. It highlights how combining deworming with school meals addresses malnutrition and promotes student well-being. The study provides evidence from various global programs and stresses the importance of multisectoral collaborations in public health and education.

Karutu C, Schultz L, Waltz J, et al. A coordinated response to the needs of the learner: How deworming and school meals together will contribute to the global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Tropical Diseases; September 2022.

The second round of the Global Survey of School Meal Programs © was conducted by the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF) from July 2021 through March 2022, gathering information on the school year beginning in 2020. The survey saw participation from 139 countries. The Global Survey collects the most comprehensive data to date on national and large-scale school feeding programs, and provides detailed global data on school meal coverage, financing, food baskets, laws and policies, home-grown school feeding, and more, serving as a resource for monitoring global progress over time. This report contributed to the State of School Feeding 2022 report, which presents the official global data on school meals.

The first-ever School Meal Programs Around the World report presents the global results from the inaugural year of the Global Survey of School Meal Programs.  The first survey round was conducted by the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF) from January 2019 to December 2020, gathering information on the school year beginning in 2017. The survey saw participation from 103 countries. The Global Survey collects the most comprehensive data to date on national and large-scale school feeding programs, and provides detailed global data on school meal coverage, financing, food baskets, laws and policies, home-grown school feeding, and more, serving as a resource for monitoring global progress over time. This report contributed to the State of School Feeding 2020 report, which presents the official global data on school meals.

Public policies aim to enhance welfare and reduce inequality across sectors like social protection, labor, health, and education. Schools, serving hundreds of millions globally, are a key platform for integrated interventions. For instance, school meals improve nutrition, attendance, and support local farmers. We propose a value-for-money framework to evaluate school system investments, assessing their broader impacts and identifying cost-effective ways to boost human capital, crucial for rebuilding after COVID-19.

This policy brief advocates for the G20 to champion planet-friendly school meal programs (SMPs) as a strategy to address multiple crises affecting children, including poverty, hunger, and climate change. It highlights the multifaceted benefits of SMPs, such as improving attendance, nutrition, health, and fostering systemic changes in food systems. It features Brazil’s leadership and South Korea’s approach to eco-friendly food markets, urging greater global investment in school meals.