Schools are favorable environments for promoting healthy eating habits from childhood and for life, while opening the door to viable market options for family farming, thus contributing to improving national production and the consumption of local foods.

The “Mesoamerica Hunger Free AMEXCID-FAO” program has been working hand in hand with the Belizean government in the implementation of a school feeding program following the “Sustainable Schools” model, encouraging rural development.

The implementation of the model goes beyond providing healthy and nutritious meals to children living in vulnerable and poor conditions, as it places special emphasis on the analysis of the nutritional study of the students, the participation of the school’s community, the implementation of pedagogical school gardens and the direct purchase of products from family farming. It also includes the adequacy of infrastructure for the reception, storage, preparation and consumption of food.

In the context of the important results obtained with the support of the Program, the Mexican Embassy in Belize, jointly with the Mexican Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AMEXCID) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), handed over to the Belizean authorities documents produced within the framework of “Mesoamerica Hunger Free AMEXCID-FAO”, which will contribute to the promotion of public policies on school feeding in the country.

The high-level event took place at the premises of the Embassy of Mexico in Belize, and was hosted by H.E. Martha Zamarripa, Mexican Ambassador to Belize, who welcomed the authorities and gave an opening speech. Also on behalf of the Mexican government, Ms. Mónica Pérez Egüis, Director General of Planning, and Dr. José Alfredo Galván, Director for Social, Human and Sustainable Development of AMEXCID, participated in the event.

The first document, titled “Systematization of the Sustainable School Feeding Model and Proposition of Recommendations as Way Forward to the Government of Belize”, details the results of the pilot experience, the challenges to be addressed, as well as the recommendations that can contribute to scaling up the implementation of the model at the national level, strengthening institutional mechanisms and ensuring the sustainability of the school feeding program in Belize.

The second document is titled “Local Procurement from Family Farming for the School Feeding Program: the Experience of Belize”, and describes the step-by-step implementation of direct purchases from family farming for school feeding, considering the experience of the four pilot Sustainable Schools located in the Toledo district, in the communities of Pueblo Viejo, Santa Elena, Santa Cruz and San Antonio.

H.E Rossana Briceño, Special Envoy for the Development of Families and Children; Hon. Valerie Woods, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Hon. Carolyn Trench Sandiford, President of the Senate of Belize; Hon. Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Secuity and Enterprise; Hon. Ramon Cervantes, Minister of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration; Hon. Francis Fonseca, Minister of Education, Culture, Science and Technology; Hon. Michel Chebat, Minister of Health and Wellness; Hon. Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management; and Ms. Yolanda Gongora, Chief Education Officer, attended the event and were pleased to receive the documents on behalf of the government of Belize.

Upon presenting the documents and explaining their contents to the audience, Dr. Israel Ríos, Regional Nutrition Officer of FAO for Latin America and the Caribbean, acknowledged and congratulated the willingness of all the Belizean institutions involved, as well as the support of AMEXCID in the development of the materials. To conclude, he expressed FAO's commitment to continue working to improve food security and contribute to eradicating poverty in the region.

“Mesoamerica Hunger Free AMEXCID-FAO” is a South-South Cooperation initiative, jointly led by the Government of Mexico, through AMEXCID, and FAO, that works closely with institutions of Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic since 2015, providing innovative development solutions to contribute to improve the living conditions of the most vulnerable population.