Global Events & Key Moments

School Meals in the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Weeks (HNPW)

11–12 Mar 2026
Children going back to school
WFP/Nour Hammad

School Meals in Emergencies & Fragile Contexts

In emergencies, school meals stabilize children’s well‑being. A daily meal helps restore routine, reduces hunger, and allows children to concentrate, learn, and feel safe in the classroom despite the upheaval around them. This early response is essential: it keeps children in school when the risk of dropout, exploitation, and psychosocial distress is at its highest.

 

Read the report here
Invitation for Advancing School Meals Programming in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings
Hybrid session

From Hunger to Hope

Advancing School Meals Programming in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Settings

As part of Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week (HPNW), the School Meals Coalition, World Vision, Save the Children, International Development Institute and the World Food Programme will host a hybrid webinar (March 11, 11:00 - 12:30 UTC+1) to explore the challenges faced by crisis-affected children, lessons from school meals in emergencies, new research on their role in social cohesion, and pathways to expand these programmes across humanitarian, development and peace efforts.

Watch the session recording here
Share our advocacy messages

Evidence demonstrates that school feeding is a game changer for children, as it incentivizes them to enrol in schools where they benefit from learning, and safe, diverse, and nutritious food. 

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Amplify the message

At a time when 345 million people face crisis levels of hunger, including 153 million children and young people, school meals are a critical safety net for vulnerable children and households.

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Featured quotes

Peter Holtsberg:

"Even amid conflict, fear, and instability, school meals, as part of a broader package of school health and nutrition interventions provided to sustain education and emergencies, play an essential role. They motivate children to go to school. They cushion the immediate effects of hunger so children can focus and learn. And crucially, when schools are protected and remain safe spaces, there is no better place for a child to be."

Max Steffen

"If we are really serious about translating the Nexus from theory into practise, then school feeding is really one of our most powerful tools."

Evan Anthony

"School feeding programmes continue to generate significant returns to children and their households in conflict-affected areas through returns to education, health, and cognition."

Prof. Rachel Sabates-Wheeler

"School meals are actually a key shock-responsive social protection mechanism...They provide a stabilising, protective effect for children and the community. they give a sense of normalcy by keeping the school open as a key point of community."

Mona Shaikh

“When school meals are delivered transparently and inclusively, we know that they reduce barriers to access for the most vulnerable children and reinforce trust between communities and institutions.”

Natasha Frosina

“What we've been able to see is that schools help create neutral spaces. They help to reinforce trust amongst communities and their institutions.”
 

Knowledge & Evidence

Publications, research and evidence showcasing school meals role in emergencies

cover Report
Report
Agriculture & Food Systems Education & Learning Emergency Response & Recovery Health & Nutrition School Meals Financing School Meals Policy Supporting Girls & Women

The State of School Feeding Worldwide

The State of School Feeding Worldwide is the United Nations’ official reporting mechanism on school meals, produced biennially by the World Food Programme, as a flagship publication, as secretariat of the School Meals Coalition. It presents the most comprehensive global assessment of how countries support their children through effective school meal programmes worldwide, highlighting trends in coverage, financing, policies and impact.

The 2024 edition reveals unprecedented expansion, with 466 million children now reached worldwide—80 million more since 2020. It highlights governments’ investments of US$84 billion annually, evidence of multisectoral impacts across education, health, nutrition, jobs and food systems, and the role of the School Meals Coalition in driving progress. This edition also highlights a clear shift: school meals are no longer just seen as a donor-driven priority but as a nationally owned and powerful policy lever. Around the world, governments are elevating school health and nutrition in their agendas—recognising school meals as a smart investment in children’s futures and stronger food systems.

The report draws on draws on the best available data sources to present a global picture of school meals coverage, implementation practices, emerging research and costs of school-based health and nutrition programmes from direct government reporting, global surveys, WFP estimates and World Bank data.

 

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Paper
Emergency Response & Recovery School Meals Policy

The Importance of School Meals in Fragile & Conflict-affected Settings

This framing paper, developed by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), outlines the key role of school meals programmes in fragile and conflict-affected settings, while investigating their contribution to peace and social cohesion.

It highlights the main risks and opportunities of school feeding in emergency contexts and identifies potential pathways through which school meals can not only achieve their primary objectives, but also foster peace and social cohesion, emphasizing the importance of conflict-sensitive programming and further evidence-generation. 

advocacy brief - promoting resilience
Advocacy & Policy briefs
Agriculture & Food Systems Education & Learning Health & Nutrition

Advocacy Brief: Promoting Safety and Resilience in Every School Meal Investment

This advocacy brief highlights the powerful role that school meals play at the intersection of nutritious meals, clean water and hygiene for children and their communities. Countries continue working to secure sustainable financing, improve infrastructure and better integrate education, health, nutrition, agriculture and water policies.

 

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Report
Agriculture & Food Systems Economic Growth School Meals Policy

A Mission Oriented Approach to School Meals: An Opportunity for Cross Departmental and Multi-Sector Industrial Strategy

This report, by Prof. Mariana Mazzucato & Sarah Doyle and colleagues at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, explores how school meals can serve as a lever for industrial strategy and food system transformation. It argues that public procurement of school meals can catalyse innovation and investment across the food value chain, shaping markets to deliver food that is healthy, sustainable and accessible.

Drawing on case studies from Brazil, Sweden and Scotland, the report highlights the social, ecological and economic benefits of school meals and their potential to drive structural change when designed as part of a mission-oriented industrial strategy. It calls on governments to reframe school meals as an investment in growth and development, not a cost, and to align procurement and financing tools accordingly.

more publications and resources