School meals

Every day, over 100 million children in low- and lower-middle-income countries are going hungry. Millions go to school on an empty stomach – hunger affects their concentration and ability to learn. In conflict-affected countries, children are twice as likely to be out of school than their peers in stable countries. For many, especially girls, school meals are a lifeline that keeps them in the classroom and out of early marriage or child labour.  

The World Food Programme (WFP) supports governments to ensure that all school-age children have access to school meals and are healthy and ready to learn. School meal programmes are a proven, cost-effective investment in human capital, with every US$1 invested generating up to US$35 in returns.

Benefits beyond the classroom

• Boost education: Improve attendance, concentration and learning. This supports children’s education, which can in turn ensure they reach their full potential – benefiting both themselves and the wider community.
• Improve health and nutrition: Provide essential nutrients and promote healthy eating habits - addressing micronutrient gaps and helping combat undernutrition, overweight and micronutrient deficiencies.
• Empower girls: Encourage families to send and keep girls in school, particularly during adolescence. This can help prevent early marriage and pregnancy and reduce lifelong risks of poverty and exclusion.
• Boost local economies and food systems: Support smallholder farmers through home-grown school feeding. This boosts trade and incomes and helps to create jobs, while supporting climate-smart agriculture and diverse, nutritious and culturally appropriate foods. 

School meals and complementary health support help build what is known as "human capital" – the sum of a population’s health, skills, knowledge, experience and habits.

Global reach and impact

• 466 million children benefit from school meal programmes globally.
• WFP directly supported 20 million children with take-home rations and cash-based transfers in 61 countries in 2024.
• Up to 99% of programme costs are covered by national governments, with WFP providing technical assistance.

WFP has worked with over 100 countries to establish sustainable, nationally owned school meal programmes. More than 50 of these countries have fully taken over their programmes, demonstrating long-term success and resilience. 

WFP’s vision

WFP’s bold vision: every child receiving a healthy meal in school by 2030.

Key priorities include:

• Strengthening national ownership and capacity.
• Aligning programmes with climate-smart and gender-sensitive approaches.
• Expanding the reach of the School Meals Coalition, now supported by over 100 governments and over 140 partners, to further build political commitment and the resources to strengthen and scale national school meal programmes worldwide.

The way forward

WFP continues to push for increased investment in school meals as a cornerstone of social protection, education and food system transformation. You can learn more about school meals and advocate for universal access to them by visiting the School Meals Coalition website. You can also read more stories on school meals via wfp.org and follow WFP on X, Instagram and our other social media platforms. Also, your donations can help us provide food for schoolchildren across the world. Together with governments, partners and communities, you can help us to ensure that no child learns on an empty stomach.