FAO's School Feeding Programme has benefited more than 85 million students in the region

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening and advancing school feeding during the XI Regional School Feeding Forum. The event, inaugurated by the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, featured the participation of FAO's Chief Economist and Acting Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Máximo Torero, who presented the work and results of the UN specialized agency in the region.

Through the commitment of countries and FAO's technical support, school feeding programmes are significantly contributing to eradicating hunger and improving nutrition for more than 85 million students in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A key element of this progress has been the establishment of the Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES) in 2018, an initiative of the Government of Brazil — through the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the National Fund for Education Development (FNDE) — with FAO providing technical support and serving as executive secretariat.

In his remarks, Torero emphasized: "In the face of complex climate events and economic challenges, we must be better prepared and respond with integrated policies. School feeding programmes are key: they reach those who need them most, absorb the impact of crises, and strengthen community resilience. FAO has contributed to the creation of more than 23,000 sustainable schools in the region, promoting school gardens, local procurement, and models that connect food with production and territorial development."

"School feeding must be healthy, sustainable, and part of a forward-looking vision. It is an investment in human development with a high return. In addition to innovation in financing, it is important to identify actions to improve the efficiency of available resources and the orientation of public spending. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty plays a key role by providing a platform for coordinating policies and resources, helping to ensure impactful interventions and generating greater social and economic returns," said Torero.

FAO's participation in the XI Regional School Feeding Forum also included a presentation by Daniela Godoy, Senior Policy Officer for Food Security and Nutrition for Latin America and the Caribbean, in the panel "How school feeding can drive improvements in nutrition and the sustainability of food systems," where she stressed the importance of school feeding at the regional level.

"School feeding programmes are a key policy to achieve sustainable agrifood systems and healthy diets, contributing to food security and better nutrition for millions of schoolchildren in the region," said Godoy.

Additionally, as part of the Forum, a meeting of RAES member countries was held, where Najla Veloso, FAO Senior School Feeding Specialist and Executive Secretary of the Network, recognized the importance of dialogue spaces and stressed the need to seek synergies with institutions working on this issue.

"All dialogues are valuable, and RAES, together with its 18 member countries, wants to remain an active part of this movement. Our goal is to strengthen the commitments made by countries so that school feeding programmes advance towards what we aspire to as a region: policies based on the human right to adequate and healthy food, offering fruits, vegetables, legumes, and delicious meals for all students," said Veloso.

The event, organized by the World Food Programme and hosted by the Government of Honduras, brought together high-level political participants, ministers, secretaries, ambassadors, professionals from various institutions, and school feeding policy managers from several countries.