Developing global nutrition guidelines and standards for school food to safeguard children´s ans adolelscent´s Right to Food

Validity period: September 2020 - December 2025
Budget: 3.870.543,00 US-Dollar

Poor diets and malnutrition can have a devastating effect on children’s health, their ability to learn and their overall performance at school. Despite a growing body of evidence that confirms that improving access to high quality, nutritious and safe food is associated with higher productivity and earning potential, many low and middle income countries currently lack the nutritional standards to guide the provision of food that meets children’s and adolescents’ needs. Thus, the development of context specific Nutrition Guidelines and Standards (NGS) is crucial to ensuring that school meals address their nutrition priorities. In this context, this
project aims to address the gap for clear guidance to develop NGS, improve children’s and adolescents’ diets and enhance the recognition and awareness of adequate school meals and food as part of the Right to Food.

Goal

To address these issues, FAO is developing a global methodology for countries to set their NGS for school food in a cost effective, participatory and flexible manner, supported by complementary education, environment and legal measures, to help enhance schoolchildren’s diets.

Impact

The project aims to contribute to the improved nutrition and well being of children, adolescents and families in low and middle income countries, through the adoption of health promoting school food practices that are aligned with, and flexible to, different needs and contexts. It will also support the realization of the Right to Food in these countries by enhancing civic awareness of the importance of school food and the recognition of its role within legal frameworks.

Approach

The global methodology being developed will be piloted in two countries to allow for the testing, improvement and measurement of results and the integration of the NGS in national legal frameworks. Regional workshops will also be conducted to ensure its flexibility and utility in different environments with various resources and needs depending on the local context. The project will support global and country level capacity development to enhance the uptake and impact of the methodology. It is also focused on enhancing the global dialogue around the need for, prioritization of and potential for food systems based NGS for schools, and features the rollout of
communication, civil empowerment and advocacy strategies. Moreover, the project will purposefully and actively engage children and adolescents to help ensure their views and concerns
are reflected in the measures developed.

The key outputs include:

Country level NGS and complementary measures that are developed, strengthened and applied, using a food systems approach, by pilot countries.
Country level capacities to effectively design, implement, evaluate and revise NGS for school food and complementary measures are enhanced in pilot countries.
A global, validated methodology and complementary tools for designing NGS for school food are available for use by target institutions in LMICs.
The global dialogue around the need, priority and potential of systems based NGS for school food is strengthened in LMICs.
Global and country guidance to incorporate NGS as a legal requirement to fulfil children’s and adolescents’ Right to Food is available for lower and middle income countries.

Ressource Patners

Federal Government of Germany, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL)

Partners

World Food Programme; Local committees, including principals, teacher representatives, food service representatives and members from the community and youth groups;
Representatives from ministries of education, health, food and agriculture, gender, finance, environment, social protection and other relevant ministries

Beneficiaries

Children and adolescents; National nutrition institutions, parliamentary groups, civil society organizations and other active development organizations; Principals, parent and teacher
associations/representatives, teacher associations, cooks and volunteers, community groups and civil society groups