Brasília, Brazil, March 14, 2024 - Discussing how to strengthen the marketing of family farming products for school feeding programmes. This is the aim of the webinar scheduled for March 21, which is part of a series of three experience exchanges with Latin American countries promoted by FAO and the governments of El Salvador, Colombia, and Ecuador.

This second virtual event is promoted by FAO's Representation in El Salvador and the Food Coalition, with the support of the Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES). The RAES Network is a strategy driven by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ABC/MRE) and the National Fund for Educational Development of the Ministry of Education (FNDE/MEC) of Brazil, with the support of FAO, through the project Regional Agenda for Sustainable School Feeding in Latin America and the Caribbean, from the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme.

Farmers and cooperatives will share their best practices in food production and marketing for school feeding programmes. Technicians from different government areas and different countries will also provide their testimonies about the importance of the link between family farming and school feeding. High-level professionals from Brazil, Peru, and Guatemala will participate, as well as a cooperative of women producers from El Salvador.

Among the objectives of the event are: (i) to contextualize how school feeding represents an opportunity in climate action, malnutrition, and more sustainable production models; (ii) to facilitate practical mechanisms for countries to implement public purchases of fresh food from family farming to strengthen school feeding; (iii) to identify innovative solutions that countries can use as reference in the implementation of public purchases of fresh food.

The first webinar in the series was held on March 1, promoting dialogue about the importance of regulatory frameworks for strengthening school feeding and contributing to ensuring the human right to adequate food.

Food Coalition 

In 2021, Colombia, Ecuador, and El Salvador, through FAO representations and in conjunction with national governments, expressed interest in developing the project “Strengthening school feeding programmes during and after the COVID-19 pandemic,” which seeks to unite efforts to strengthen and scale up school feeding programmes through the Sustainable Schools methodology in order to contribute to the guarantee of human right to adequate food. The three countries are supported by the Food Coalition in the implementation of this methodology, developed by the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation in 2012 and already present in 14 countries.

The Food Coalition promoted by FAO is a global alliance of multiple stakeholders to respond to and recover from COVID-19. This initiative aims to mobilize financial resources, innovations, and technical competencies, promote advocacy activities, and establish a neutral space for dialogue among a variety of key stakeholders in support of the countries that need it most.

More information: 

Date: March 21st, 2024
Time: 10:00 – 12:00 (Barbados Time Zone), 16:00 – 18:00 (Italy)
Audience: School feeding technicians and managers, government officials, civil society representatives, legislative sector representatives, RAES representatives, FAO technical specialists and partners from participating countries related to school feeding.
There will be interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese and English
Link Zoom: https://fao.zoom.us/j/98495521107?pwd=YTFYMTI3RDJKbXpPcFFXV2lOd0hzQT09
Password: 41788608