On the day before the 2nd Global Summit of the School Food Coalition, held in Fortaleza on September 18 and 19, a webinar entitled “International School Food Science Day” was held, presenting the latest research driving smarter and more cost-effective school feeding programs around the world.
The webinar was organized by the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition, led by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with the Brazilian government, and included the participation of several United Nations agencies, such as WFP, FAO, and UNESCO, the World Bank, representatives of the Brazilian government, institutions such as ABC, FNDE, and IPEA, as well as reports from experts from various countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and around the world on their school feeding programs, and experts from renowned universities.
The event also marks four years since the Research Consortium was launched as the Coalition’s first initiative—an opportunity to celebrate progress and highlight proven practices that are transforming school feeding around the world. The Research Consortium already mobilizes more than 1,200 researchers and 600 organizations, and has more than 70 publications and studies on the topic.
As the country with the second largest school feeding program in the world, Brazil brought a wealth of experience and academic knowledge to the discussion. The Brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE) serves approximately 40 million public school students throughout Brazil in more than 150,000 schools.
The Director of the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil, Daniel Balaban, emphasized in his speech that school feeding programs, especially when aligned with sustainability and the local economy, are fundamental pillars in combating food insecurity. “We will not achieve zero hunger in the world without schools. Investing in school feeding is investing in ending hunger, and it is an investment in our future,” he said.
Among the studies cited, The State of School Feeding in the World 2024 stood out. The study revealed that 466 million children receive daily meals at school, an increase of 80 million in just four years. The greatest growth in school feeding program coverage was observed in low-income countries.
Brazil and South-South Cooperation for School Feeding
The Brazilian PNAE is a global benchmark and has already helped several countries improve their own programs. The WFP Centre of Excellence, in partnership with the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the National Fund for Education Development (FNDE), has already assisted more than 20 countries with their national school feeding programs.
For ABC, organizer of the event in partnership with the Consortium, the webinar reaffirms Brazil’s commitment to sharing its experience and building joint solutions based on science and South-South cooperation.
