Healthy Meals in Schools: Policy Innovations Linking Agriculture, Food Systems & Nutrition
Greater policy emphasis is needed on the multiple-win agenda that couples school meals with benefits to agriculture, education and nutrition
Abstract
Evidence from around the world on locally-sourced school meals reveals a multiple-win opportunity for policymakers with important benefits for school achievement, employment and national economic growth. Providing nutritionally balanced school meals with complementary nutrition education and health measures can deliver improved school performance, nutrition literacy as well as employment and income in later life. The procurement of food for schools from local farming communities supports farming households and livelihoods, and promotes sustainable local markets for diverse, nutritious foods. Combined interventions can also unleash a chain of beneficial impacts that break the cycle of poverty: better child nutrition supports better education, which supports improved dietary and health choices by mothers, which in turn leads to better birth outcomes and enhanced educational success for the next generation.
This output is funded under the Department for International Developments Global Panel on Agriculture & Food Systems for Nutrition Programme
Citation
Global Panel (2015), Healthy Meals in Schools: Policy Innovations Linking Agriculture, Food Systems & Nutrition, Policy Brief No. 3, London: Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition, 16pp
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