Food Coalition

ACT, ACCELERATE, TRANSFORM

Strengthening school feeding programmes during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Countries involved

  •  Colombia
  •  Ecuador
  •  El Salvador

Time frame

2022-2025

Pillar 3
Support and follow-up to G20 Matera Declaration
Pillar 4
Longer-term solutions – developed to transform agrifood systems

Background

Vulnerable children have been among the most affected groups by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools closure, as a result of social isolation measures, not only affects children learning processes but also threatens the food security of millions.

Before COVID-19 pandemic, school feeding programmes benefitted nearly 85 million children in Latin America and the Caribbean and for about 10 million of them, they constitute one of the most reliable daily sources of food. In countries like Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador, where food for school feeding programmes is locally purchased, the disruptions in the programmes have also negatively affected the income of small farmers.

 

Objective

Strengthening technical capacities and coordination mechanisms of the school feeding programmes through the methodology of Sustainable Schools

This intervention focuses on supporting Ecuador, El Salvador and Colombia in strengthening and scaling up their school feeding programmes through the Sustainable Schools methodology in order to safeguard the food and nutritional security of school-age children and provide sustainability to the local economy, while promoting the transformation of food systems and preventing food loss and waste. The project has the final goal of addressing the nutritional needs of school children, adolescents and youth, through a sustainable food systems approach.

Activities

  • Colombia – Designed a pedagogical plan and a circular-economy strategy for the 2025 Sustainable Schools pilot.

  • Ecuador – Trained 164 School Feeding Committees; established 49 additional school gardens in five cantons; drafted five municipal ordinances on malnutrition prevention.

  • El Salvador – Provided technical inputs to the draft Law on Child and Adolescent Nutrition; updated the cost analysis for 33 fresh products used in school snacks.

  • Cross-cutting – Trained 919 family farmers on crop management, post-harvest handling and public procurement requirements; promoted South-South exchanges among the three countries.

 

Contributing to

FAO “4 Betters” Strategic Framework

Better Life

Better Nutrition

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG1SDG2SDG3SDG4SDG5SDG8SDG11SDG12SDG13