The school meal programme in Ethiopia was initiated in 1994 through a collaboration with WFP, initially implemented as a pilot initiative in 40 schools situated in pastoral areas. Encouraged by positive outcomes, the programme was expanded to additional regions in 2004. This expansion predominantly targeted areas affected by food insecurity stemming from conflicts, severe droughts, and elevated rates of absenteeism and dropouts from schools.

Since 2021, there has been a significant expansion and prioritization of school feeding by the government to ensure food security, particularly for pre-primary and primary schoolchildren. This was underscored by the School Feeding Policy Framework and Implementation Strategy which established the vision, objectives and pillars of the programme.  School feeding has now become an integral part of the national development agenda, enshrined in key policies such as the National Social Protection Policy (2012), the Education Sector Development Plan (2020-2025), the National Food and Nutrition Strategy (2021) and the National School Health and Nutrition strategy (2012) among others.

The national school meal programme is managed by the school feeding unit under the Ministry of Education. It reaches 25% of schoolchildren across all regions of the country through three modalities. One or more modalities can coexist in the same school, depending on the context.

• The traditional (in-kind) modality through which the government supplied ingredients that vary according to the region and meals are prepared on-site.
• The home-grown modality through which local farmers supply the food and parents are encouraged to contribute by cooking or providing fuel wood or water. In this modality, found in most regions, one meal is provided to students per day. The implementation of this modality typically relies on development partners like WFP, Global Partnership for Education, Education Cannot Wait, China Foundation for Rural Development, etc.
• The emergency school meal modality targets schools affected by onset emergencies such as conflicts, droughts and floods. Through this modality, hot meals and/or high-energy biscuits are provided to students targeted by a Humanitarian Response Plan.

In some areas, take-home rations are also provided to families as an incentive for their children to attend school.

Each region manages the programme based on its resources and budget capacity. For example, the Addis Ababa City Administration has institutionalized school meals by creating an independent agency supported by a budget line. This has allowed the city administration to provide two school meals per day, breakfast and lunch.

As of August 2023, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with WFP developed the National Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) Programme Guidelines and Standards to operationalize the national school meal policy framework and implementation strategy. These guidelines encompass a series of recommendations covering food handling, food procurement and budgeting, and provide nutrition requirements for the preparation and serving of school meals. Additionally, the document provides recommendations for the implementation of complementary interventions, such as WASH, school eye health, school gardens, etc.

The government plans to expand the programme's reach with a long-term view of making it accessible to all public schools. 

As of 2023, there are no set standards on what can be served or sold around the school premises.

The main characteristics of the National HGSF Programme Guidelines and Standards are summarized below:

Development process of the National HGSF Programme Guidelines and Standards

The nutrition requirements for school meals, as outlined in the National HGSF Programme Guidelines and Standards were crafted in alignment with the Ethiopian National Food Based-Dietary Guidelines. According to the guidelines, the school meal should include food items from six food groups:

1. Staple foods: cereal grains such as teff, barley, maize, sorghum, root crops and tubers such as “enset” and cassava.
2. Legumes: peas, lentils, broad beans and soy beans.
3. Nuts and oilseeds: common nuts and oilseeds in Ethiopia include groundnuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and Niger seeds.
4. Milk and dairy products: animal milk, yoghurt and cheese.
5. Meat, poultry, eggs and fish: animal-source foods (ASFs) such as meat, poultry, eggs and fish.
6. Fruits and vegetables: fruits such as papayas, avocados, mangoes and bananas.

All implementing entities are encouraged to follow the guidelines and standards, which should be updated every five years. Additionally, the menu planning should be designed at the regional level based on local foods and following a consultative process led by the school feeding unit, involving experts from different sectors such as health, nutrition, agriculture, disaster prevention and preparedness, as well as members from cooperatives and school committees. 

The steps to plan the menu encompass:

1. A field assessment to identify a list of foods produced by smallholder farmers available in the market while considering the nutrition requirements. The assessment should provide information on seasonality, availability, acceptability by schoolchildren and cost;
2. A revision and improvement of a sample food menu (provided in the guidelines) based on the information obtained through the field assessment. The menu should include locally produced food as much as possible. The menu can be adapted to local food habits and regional variations in the availability of food items;
3. An analysis of the limitations of meal preparation related to storage, cooking facilities, availability of water and fuel, etc;
4. The selection of foods that best achieve nutrition requirements which have a reasonable cost, are in line with local food habits and traditions, are simple to prepare, require few pieces of cooking equipment and have short cooking times, and
5. The preparation of the week-based meal plan.

The sample menu outlined in the guidelines is as follows:

Implementation

Ethiopia employs a multisectoral approach in implementing the school meal programme, involving different entities like the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Water and Energy, the Public Research Institute, WFP, and NGOs like Save the Children.

The School Feeding Policy Framework and Implementation Strategy envisions several key activities for adequate implementation, such as awareness-raising initiatives, improving school kitchens to serve as centres for training for the local community, organizing cooking contests, and celebrating national and continental school feeding days, among others.

At the school level, the implementation of the meal programme is overseen by the school committee consisting of parents, teachers, health workers and agricultural professionals. This committee manages most aspects of the programme, including school gardens, while health workers are specifically tasked with controlling the nutritional quality of school meals.

The National HGSF Guidelines and Standards include a sample guide for cooks’ training covering topics such as maintaining personal hygiene, ensuring a clean space, preparing meals, preserving foods and prioritizing the use of fuel-efficient stoves. Additionally, the National Food and Personal Hygiene Protocol for the School Feeding Programme developed in 2022 by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Education addresses themes like food contamination, food management, storage, food safety, food preparation and waste management. In practice, however, there are no current training schemes available for school cooks. 

Monitoring and Evaluation

All administrative bodies from the federal to the woreda (district) level are responsible for monitoring and supporting the programme, as well as ensuring compliance with the guidelines and standards. According to the National HGSF Guidelines and Standards, the monitoring and evaluation process should include: 

• Data collection, analysis, reporting, feedback and corrective action;
• A responsible person for the assessment, monitoring and evaluation of school feeding;
• Staff trained to implement the monitoring and evaluation plan; and
• A regular report on the school meal programme participation, funds expenditures, and food and equipment inventory.
  

When visiting schools (the frequency depends on human and financial capacity), the practical activities should include:

• Counting the pupils to be served on the day;
• Observing the measurement of ingredients and their release from the store to the kitchen;
• Observing the cooking process and cooking facilities;
• Observing the infrastructure and providing inputs and recommendations;
• Attending the food distribution and recording comments;
• Meeting with the school director, focal teachers, cooks, parents and teacher associations (PTAs), school feeding committee, and students;
• Ensuring that registers are being marked and recorded; and
• Checking the safety, security and records of the storage room.

The report from school visits is compiled quarterly and the Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) generates an annual report. As of 2023, there is no penalty for non-compliance with the guidelines and standards. The Ministry of Education intends to integrate school feeding indicators in the EMIS to capture the data on school feeding annually. Some Indicators relevant to the nutritional quality of the meal are as follows:

• Feeding days as a percentage of school days; 
• Food diversity score; and
• Quantity of fortified foods provided.

Go to the summary of the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme Guidelines and Standards