Beyond the lunch tray: School meals as a catalyst for food systems transformation in Africa

 
June 5, 2024 | 8:00 ET - 9:00 am ET
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Young children eat at long tables at school.
Sven Torfinn/Panos Pictures

Wednesday, June 5, 2024   
15:00-16:00 EAT (8:00-9:00 EDT) 

Online webinar

Join us for an insightful discussion to explore the role of school feeding programs as a key driver of food systems transformation in Africa and beyond, with critical co-benefits for children, society and the environment. 

In 2019, over 65 million children across Africa received school meals, an impressive 71% increase from 2013. When schools across the world were closed in 2020, the loss of school meals became one of the hidden costs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following multiple global crises that have exposed the fragility of our food systems, the expansion of school feeding initiatives has now been identified as a critical component of building more resilient and nutritious food systems for all. 

Today, over a quarter of sub-Saharan Africa’s children are deprived of nutritious foods, with malnutrition remaining a critical issue. Further expansion of school feeding programs could thus benefit millions of children by providing them with regular access to wholesome, nourishing foods. It could also have co-benefits for the environment and society. 

Given the increasingly important role of school feeding programs as a driver of food systems transformation, the Catalyzing Change for Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems initiative, co-funded by IDRC and the Rockefeller Foundation, is now enhancing its support to countries and projects that focus on this critical area of work. During this webinar, you’ll hear from school food experts across the continent. 

Moderator: Chifundo Kamulete, Act4Food Youth Food Systems Leader (Malawi)

Speakers: 

  • Senegal: Mamadou Abdoulaye Diallo, statistician, economist and research assistant for the Consortium for Economic and Social Research  
  • Ghana: Esther Abena Gyinde, nutrition officer, Ghana School Feeding Program secretariat, FoodWise 
  • Kenya: Simon Omondi, assistant director, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization  
  • Kenya: Jacqueline Kung’u, research scientist, Nutrition and Food Systems Unit, African Population and Health Research Centre 

Commentary and closing remarks: Peiman Milani, director, the Food Initiative, The Rockefeller Foundation 

Simultaneous interpretation to English and French will be available. 

Read our article and brief on school-driven food systems transformation.