World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

Through WFP’s school feeding programme, students in Zaatari schools receive a mid-day snack to give them the boost of energy they need to concentrate and actively participate in school

The mid-day snack consists of a fortified date bar enriched with 11 vitamins and 3 minerals. WFP’s partner, Save the Children, helps transport, package, store and distribute the date bars.

On the day when the date bars were first given out, we met six-year-old Roaa who says she wants to teach English when she grows up.

In addition to providing nourishment, school meals give children like these another reason to come to school. Following the introduction of school feeding at the Zaatari camp for refugees, school attendance increased significantly.

Teachers at the Zaatari camp schools in Jordan say that their students’ ability to concentrate has improved since school feeding programme started.

In Jordan, more than 6,000 children are now receiving a mid-day nutritious snack in the two UNICEF-run schools in Zaatari refugee camp. WFP plans to increase the number to 30,000 children in coming months.

“Many Syrian children have already gone through an incredible ordeal -- losing family members, crossing borders and living as refugees in neighbouring countries -- and they need to be back in school,” says Muhannad Hadi, WFP’s Regional Emergency Coordinator for the Syria crisis.