PRESS RELEASE: Data Collection for Second Global Survey of School Meal Programs has Begun

GCNF conducts second round Global Survey of School Meal Programs, capturing world-wide impact of COVID-19 on school meals and child nutrition

SEATTLE, WA – School meal programs — in which students are provided with snacks, meals, or other foods in or through schools — are common worldwide. While country-supported school meals are almost universally embraced globally, standardized information about these programs has not been collected and published regularly, until now. The Global Child Nutrition Foundation’s (GCNF) inaugural Global Survey of School Meal Programs © established a unique global database of standardized information on school meal programs, covering all related sectors and activities.

GCNF is now collecting a second round of data for the Global Survey of School Meal Programs ©, capturing the impact of the pandemic for at least one full school year. As schools closed due to the pandemic, from Honduras to the United States to Senegal to Cambodia, many families’ access to school feeding programs that have been important sources of food and nutrition for their children and essential support for households was lost or limited. GCNF’s survey will help to measure and tell the story of the pandemic’s toll on the school food system, while also documenting the resilience and creativity of school meal programs in the face of such dramatic challenges. 

“We know that the pandemic has had far-reaching and devastating effects on children, their nutrition, and their education,” said GCNF Executive Director Arlene Mitchell. “This survey will not only provide us with more specific information regarding the impact on school-age children and the programs that support their nutrition, it should also give us insights into which countries were better prepared to deal with this public health crisis and what would assist in planning for future emergencies of this type. We will use the survey results to support peer-to-peer sharing and learning amongst policy makers.”

This 2021 survey goes beyond simply counting how many meals are served or how many children are fed. Through the survey, GCNF will gather updated information regarding:

  • The scope of school feeding in each country in the most recently completed school year Government financing of, and involvement in, school feeding
  • Nutrition-, education-, and gender-related aspects of school feeding
  • Job creation, and agricultural and private sector engagement
  • Related health and sanitation topics
  • The impact of emergencies, including the COVID-19 Pandemic

“No one’s done this before and I couldn’t, I kind of couldn’t believe it.” said Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of GAIN and Chair of the UN Food Systems Summit’s Action Track 1, on the extensive data collected in the Global Survey of School Meal Programs. “No one has collected this data before in a systematic manner, given that these programs have been around so long, they have so much potential to do good. And so many countries have them. It seemed amazing to me that there isn’t a database on them.”

GCNF Global Survey Team members have begun reaching out to country governments around the world to begin completing questionnaires. The Global Survey of School Meal Programs Questionnaire may be completed online or in PDF format (with email submission). It is available in PDF format in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. The Survey Team will serve as virtual guides, to answer questions, and otherwise work with government-appointed Focal Points to complete the survey. Learn more about the Global Survey team.

The 2019 Global Survey drew responses from 103 countries representing 78% of the world’s population. Of these, 85 countries had at least one large-scale school feeding program and provided data for their most recently completed school year. The remaining 18 countries reported that they had no relevant program. Complete survey results and additional information can be found at www.gcnf.org. It is GCNF’s intention to update the Global Survey periodically (e.g., every two to three years) in order to track changes and identify trends in school feeding programs over time.

The Global Child Nutrition Foundation brings together a committed community of governments, civil society, and the private sector to ensure that hunger is not a barrier to learning for any child. Together we advocate for school feeding programs as a powerful investment in every child’s human capital; share best practices and research among our peers; and provide support through forging valuable partnerships and connecting resources to meet the needs of our network members.

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Contact Information:
Global Child Nutrition Foundation
Rebecca Steelman
206-258-6749
rebecca@gcnf.org

 

Heidi Kessler
Senior Program & Operations Officer
Heidi@gcnf.org

PRESS RELEASE: GCNF’s Report School Meal Programs Around the World finds school feeding programs drive inclusive economic growth

SEATTLE, WA (April 14, 2021) — School meal programs extend benefits far beyond their critical education and nutritional value for vulnerable children, creating jobs and contributing to agricultural and economic growth and social stability for whole communities says a new Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF) report, School Meal Programs Around the World. While many countries are investing in school meal programs, coverage is weakest precisely where the need is the greatest.

“The value of school feeding as an investment in human capital is essential to inclusive economic growth and the well-being of children and families,” Mitchell says. “Especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical that we advocate for school feeding programs as a path to recovery. School meals support children in returning to school. They directly contribute to children’s health, nutrition, and education, expand employment opportunities for women and youth and strengthen agriculture. The intergenerational benefits are enormous.”

The report School Meal Programs Around the World, is based on the Global Survey of School Meal Programs © conducted in 2019 by the Global Child Nutrition Foundation, creating the first comprehensive global database of school meal programs. 

Of the 103 countries that responded, 85 countries reported that they have one or more large-scale school meal programs that serve an estimated 297.3 million children around the world. Almost three quarters of countries stated their programs also serve as a social safety net, providing food for poor or vulnerable children that offsets household costs for their families. As schools closed due to the pandemic, from Honduras to the United States to Senegal, families had limited access to school feeding programs that have been important sources of food and nutrition for their children and essential support to households. 

The survey also reveals that while financing remains a challenge in many countries, it is clear that programs are most successful when funding is earmarked in national budgets. “Governments across the world must invest in grey matter infrastructure; the infrastructure that helps brains grow from nutrition; the infrastructure that builds the healthy and productive workforce of the future,” said Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank and 2017 recipient of both GCNF’s Gene White Lifetime Achievement Award and the World Food Prize.

The survey also found that nearly all programs purchase some or all food domestically creating significant institutional demand to support the livelihoods of local producers, encourage production of healthier foods for children, and build resilience into our supply chains. Harnessing this buying power could have a powerful and positive effect on both national and global food systems.

“The survey enhances our understanding of the wide range of benefits and value of school feeding as an economic and social development tool,” explains Executive Director Arlene Mitchell. “We expect the impact on food systems to be great as we uncover multiple opportunities to strengthen program engagement with agriculture and to use local purchasing, especially from small scale farmers as a tool for economic development and resilience.”

Countries also recognize that school feeding programs meaningfully contribute to women’s equitable economic empowerment when emphasizing formal employment and fair wages. Most countries reported that 75% or more of school food preparers are women, but 31% of programs reported that very few or no cooks receive payment for their work.

The impact of school meals can be even greater for adolescent girls—well-nourished adolescent girls achieve better learning outcomes, delay marriage and early pregnancy, and have the opportunity to advance their lives. Yet the survey found that countries where early marriage and pregnancy rates are the highest have the lowest levels of secondary school feeding programs.

“I will not rest until every child in Africa has at least two meals a day and can go to school, because then maybe they will have a chance of following in my footsteps—have a right to control their destiny.” said Agnes Kalibata, President of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and Special Envoy for 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit

The Global Child Nutrition Foundation works with governments, civil society, and the private sector to ensure that hunger is not a barrier to learning for any child. Together we advocate for school feeding programs as a powerful investment in every child’s human capital; share best practices and research among our peers; and provide support through forging valuable partnerships and connecting resources to meet the needs of our network members.

GCNF’s goal is to conduct its survey every two to three years to provide a systematically updated view of school feeding programs around the world. The upcoming 2021 Global Survey of School Meal Programs © aims to capture the impact of the pandemic for at least one full school year, utilizing the 2019 survey as a baseline.

“We have so much more information than before and we can see the landscape of school feeding from multiple angles,” said Mitchell. “But most topics require more in-depth examination and, above all, action. COVID-19 has heightened the urgency for action.”

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Contact Information:

Global Child Nutrition Foundation

Rebecca Steelman

Communications Officer

206-258-6749
rebecca@gcnf.org

 

Jennifer Shin

Senior Program Officer

jennifer@gcnf.org