Healthy and well-nourished school children learn better and have better chances to thrive and fulfil their potential as adults. Ensuring that girls and boys stay in school and are able and ready to learn allows countries to develop their human capital and individuals to more fully achieve their potential in life. It strengthens community cohesion, stability and productivity, and helps make people and societies more resilient in a rapidly changing world.
School feeding helps to keep children healthy and well nourished, and encourages families to send their children to school and keep them there, even during times of crisis. Additional “take-home” food rations or cash transfers further encourage school attendance, reducing drop-out rates and contributing to improving human capital through a more literate, self-reliant and healthy society.
Sometimes, a school meal is the only proper meal a child receives.
In 2018, WFP provided school meals or snacks to 16.4 million schoolchildren, of whom 51 percent were girls. To learn more about WFP school feeding programmes in 2018, please see this 2018 infographic.
