School Meals Expand the Right to Food for a Better Life and Future

By Joseph Bangnikon, Sr. Technical Advisor, Food Security

Many children in low-income countries endure their entire school day without a nutritious meal, a situation that demands urgent attention. They arrive at school hungry and struggle to concentrate. Some even miss entire school days due to lack of food. This cycle of childhood hunger leads to poor educational outcomes, jeopardizing their future.

For Global Communities, ensuring positive educational outcomes for schoolchildren is intrinsically tied to securing their right to adequate nutritious food, especially during the school day when most students have their principal or only nutritional meal. Globally, an estimated 153 million children under 18 are said to be food insecure, or lacking sufficient food for a healthy life. In the United States alone, 1 in 5 children do not know where they will get their next meal.

what is world food day?

World Food Day is dedicated to celebrating the advances made to achieve food for all. The day is also set aside to recognize the contributions of many — including farmers, entrepreneurs, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, parents, communities and governments — toward achieving food security for a healthy world. This year’s theme, “Right to foods for a better life and a better future,” is apt and signals a renewed commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3 and 4:

For over half a century, Global Communities has been at the forefront of expanding access to safe, nutritious food. We work with communities, smallholder farmers and women to combat food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition. School meals are a key tool in this fight, not only combating child hunger but also improving educational outcomes and local economies.

In partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (McGovern-Dole), we are improving educational outcomes for children and providing them with nutritious school meals in a safe, inclusive and sustainable way. In 2024 alone, Global Communities has served over 30 million meals to 295,777 schoolchildren.

What Challenges stand in the way of food for all?

Despite tremendous advances in achieving the right to food for all, formidable challenges remain in banishing hunger. Two intractable issues stand in the way of achieving food for all: climate change and conflict.

Climate change adversely impacts food production through erratic rainfall patterns, the drying of arable lands and the outbreaks of pests and diseases. Erratic rainfall patterns mean rainfall becomes unpredictable in amount, duration and intensity. A shorter duration means crops do not complete their life cycles within the rainy season, leading to diminished yields and losses. Unpredictable weather events such as typhoons decimate food production and destroy livelihoods. As the world warms due to climate change, arable lands give way to arid zones that cannot support crop production. In addition, higher temperatures are associated with pest outbreaks that devastate farm fields. High heat, mainly in Africa’s Sahel region and adjoining lands, contributes to rivers drying and lowering the water table. The loss of rivers not only affects crop production but also has a bearing on livestock production. Global smallholder livestock production systems are heavily water-dependent, and as rivers and water bodies evaporate, so do livelihoods.

The second issue that stands in the way of achieving food for all is disasters, especially human-caused disasters. Violent conflicts, including those in Yemen, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, the entire Sahel region and elsewhere, threaten the right to food. Conflicts not only lead to loss of lives but also cause displacement of people and the destruction and disruption of food system infrastructure. Displacement and insecurity are a bane to achieving the right to food, resulting in malnutrition that threatens opportunities for a better life and a better future.

HOW DOES GLOBAL COMMUNITIES HELP?

Aware of these challenges, Global Communities, through its USDA-funded McGovern-Dole projects in Tanzania, Madagascar and Central America, is sowing seeds of hope and expanding the right to food for schoolchildren. Using a combination of USDA-donated commodities, locally procured food commodities, parental in-kind contributions and production from school gardens, Global Communities is at the forefront of securing children’s well-being and better futures by providing school meals in a collaborative, holistic and sustainable way.

Our integrated school feeding approach is multidisciplinary, extending far beyond imported food aid. We promote literacy and early child development; invest in climate-smart and nutrition-sensitive agriculture; improve school infrastructure; and strengthen the capacity of local communities to gradually transition to locally owned school meal programs. By integrating sustainability as a core pillar of each project, Global Communities has been able to achieve lasting impact in each region where we work.

For example, school gardens have been instrumental in providing a rich source of nutrient-dense vegetables that boost the quality of meals. Over 184 metric tons (MT) of fresh produce has been harvested in Tanzania alone and utilized in preparing school meals with micronutrients and minerals. Similarly, 334MT of USDA-donated food commodities has been used to improve the right to food for students in our program schools. In Tanzania, aware of the link between educational outcomes and good nutrition, Global Communities has aptly called its McGovern-Dole project Pamoja Tuwalishe, which means “Together Let’s Feed Them” in Swahili. Indeed, guaranteeing the right to food for schoolchildren is a team effort.

School meals have also been observed to improve attendance at schools. EPP Toby Mahatsinjo is one of 130 schools where Global Communities is implementing Mianatra, the first McGovern-Dole project in Madagascar. In one year, enrollment at EPP Toby Mahatsinjo has risen from 466 to over 700 students in attendance daily thanks to significant improvements made through the project. Teachers have also shared their motivation to show up for their students, with an average monthly attendance rate of over 90%, the highest of all Mianatra implementation schools.

Global Communities is pleased to be a partner for nation-building in the countries where we implement school feeding projects. Together, achieving global food security and the right to food for a better life and future, especially for schoolchildren, is within reach. Let us continue to work together to make it a reality.