Brasilia, February 14, 2023. The FAO Representative in Brazil, Rafael Zavala, and the Regional Coordinator of School Feeding of the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation, Najla Veloso, paid a courtesy visit to the new president of the National Fund for Educational Development of the Ministry of Education (FNDE/MEC), Fernanda Pacobahyba. 

The meeting was held on Monday, 13th, at the institution's headquarters, in Brasília. With that, once again, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reaffirmed its commitment to school feeding in Brazil and in Latin America and the Caribbean.

It has been already 14 years of cooperation in school feeding, which brings pride and satisfaction, since encouraging the creation of sustainable school feeding programmes and improving these actions are fundamental for the social and economic development of the partner countries.

The Brazilian experience is a pioneer in combining school feeding with family farming, which, in addition to improving the quality of food served in schools - with the insertion of more fresh and healthy products -, stimulates the productivity of smallholder farmers and guarantees this population more market and better income.

Within the framework of this partnership, the Sustainable School Feeding Network – RAES was created, which seeks to maintain dialogue and exchange of experiences among countries to consolidate school feeding programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean.