Italy supports WFP school meals programme for 100,000 schoolchildren across Lebanon

The programme, closely coordinated with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, was launched in 2016 to boost students’ health, learning and access to education. The programme first reached 10,000 schoolchildren in 22 primary public schools and has steadily expanded.

“I have witnessed this programme grow exponentially over the past few years, now reaching ten times more students than it used to,” says WFP Representative and Country Director in Lebanon Abdallah Alwardat.  “We are grateful for the generous contribution and commitment of the people and Government of Italy who have stood by the School Meals Programme in Lebanon since its inception.”

Beyond its expansion in reach, the programme has also strengthened local ties with local businesses and links to other WFP programmes. Almost all the food ingredients for school meals and snacks are now locally produced and procured, supporting the local economy, retail shop owners, and farmers.

In a significant development, WFP has also supported the efforts of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education to join the School Meals Coalition in August 2023. This coalition serves as a crucial forum to drive actions to enhance and scale national school meals programmes by 2030.

“Today's visit to Aley Mixed Intermediate Public and Aley First Mixed Intermediate School, both of which have benefited from the WFP School Meal Programme, highlights the tangible impact of our collaborative efforts with MEHE and WFP towards supporting education in Lebanon,” said the Chargée d’Affaires of the Italian Embassy Silvia Tosi. “The initiative, significantly bolstered also by the contributions from the Italian Cooperation is fully in line with our commitment not only to enhancing access and retention in schools for all children in Lebanon but also to fostering a healthier, more nourishing environment for their growth and development.”

Italy has supported WFP Lebanon through AICS with a total of over USD 12.7 million since 2016 and has steadily supported the School Meals Programme each year since its launch.

“We extend our thanks and appreciation for the generous funding from the Italian government through the Italian cooperation for the school feeding program, as well as our thanks to the World Food Programme. This program has witnessed development and expansion over the past years and its reach now exceeds a hundred thousand students across Lebanon. All children enrolled in schools are equally benefiting from these meals without any discrimination between Lebanese and non-Lebanese, because the need for food is one, especially after the compounding crises that Lebanon is experiencing,” says His Excellency the Minister of Education and Higher Education of Lebanon, Dr. Abbas Halabi. “We look forward to the school feeding program becoming a permanent fixture in our educational plan in the future.”

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The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation - AICS, is the Public Agency responsible for promoting international Development, providing Public Aid and Humanitarian Emergencies. AICS is operative since January 2016, supporting the Italian government, its European and international partners in promoting Development around the world.

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