Global Child Nutrition Foundation

🍂 This #Thanksgiving season, we’re reflecting on the power of partnerships and collaboration. At GCNF, we’re grateful for our global partners—like FAO, World Food Programme, and Research Consortium for School Health & Nutrition—that play a vital role in supporting #SchoolMeals across the globe. In 2018, GCNF launched the Global Survey of School Meal Programs, the first effort to collect standardized data directly from governments on school feeding programs worldwide. With data from over 160 countries, this survey has become an invaluable tool for helping school feeding partners and governments understand how countries are financing, implementing, and evolving their school meal initiatives. Support from The Rockefeller Foundation and USDA has helped make this important work possible. Read more to learn how the work of GCNF and key partners drives global progress toward ensuring every child receives a nutritious meal at school! 🥣 https://lnkd.in/gi-7JxSW

SCHOOL MEALS IN DENMARK: When I moved back home to Denmark last summer after almost 15 years abroad, I was slightly surprised to discover that my home country still did not have a national school meals programme and that the school milk that I grew up with had also disappeared from most schools. Surprised because I have seen the huge impact of government-run school meals programmes - many of them supported by the World Food Programme - in countries across the world and my own children who grew up in Kenya and Italy have always received school meals... until they moved to their home country. Denmark is a member of the international School Meals Coalition together with more than 100 other countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and several Danish foundations and companies are supporting WFP's global work on home-grown school feeding. But until today Denmark was one of only 3 countries in Europe without a national school meals programme. Today the Danish Government announced - for the first time ever - an investment of around US$ 120 million in a national school meals pilot scheme from 2025 to 2028 in the Danish Finance Act for 2025! This fantastic announcement is the result of political courage and tireless advocacy from a wide range of Danish food and education actors united in the new Skolemad til ALLE / School meals for EVERYONE alliance. Kudos to all of them!   Arla Fonden, Arla Foods, Børns Vilkår, Dansk Cater, Dansk Vegetarisk Forening (DVF) - Vegetarian Society of Denmark Danske Skoleelever, Det Danske Madhus, Diabetesforeningen, FOA, Tænketanken Frej, Fru Hansens Kælder, Haver til Maver, Kost & Ernæringsforbundet, Danish Agriculture and Food Council, Madkulturen, MADVOGNEN, Mejeriforeningen/Danish Dairy Board, Meyers Madhus, Naturmælk, Samsø Kommune, Simon's Kogeskole, Skole og Forældre, ØJN Skolemad, Smørmanden, Thise Mejeri, SkoleMad.dk, Økologisk Landsforening, Øllingegaard and many others!

School meals offer potential to shape multiple outcomes for children and for the systems connected to school meals. They can do even more for nutrition and food systems if well designed, but the evidence base needs to be strengthened around the world. We will discuss this - and more - at this event on Nov 18. Join us! CGIAR International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) Charlotte Hebebrand Johan Swinnen

📢 Registration for the 2024 Global Child Nutrition Forum is officially closed and at capacity! We’re thrilled by the tremendous interest in this year’s event — it’s clear that the power of school meal programs is resonating globally. 🌍 🥣 We look forward to welcoming all registered 2024 #GCNForum participants in Osaka, Japan for 4 days of peer-to-peer exchange and technical workshops. #SchoolMeals #Nutrition #GlobalChildNutritionForum

Sharing a piece by VACS Champion Global Child Nutrition Foundation. Francis Mwanza discusses the nutritional and climate-resilient opportunities when we incorporate local, traditional crops into school meal programs. Sorghum, finger millet, cowpeas, pigeon pea, amaranth, cleome, African eggplant, spider plant, Hibiscus, Bambara groundnuts, Horned melon, blackjack and marama beans - the list goes on. Give it a read. What do you think? https://lnkd.in/e2pfDBjC

🌍 At COP29 Azerbaijan, global leaders will be discussing urgent solutions for a sustainable climate future. Projects like the Mwinimunda Heritage Homestead Project in #Zambia remind us that some of the answers may lie in the past. Francis Mwanza shares that by reviving indigenous, #climate-smart crops, the Homestead not only preserves biodiversity but strengthens local food systems, supporting a critical step toward resilient, #sustainable communities. Read more to learn how traditional crops are paving the way for modern solutions. 🌾 #COP29 #ClimateAction #SustainableFood 

Global #SchoolMeals in Focus: Spotlight on #Rwanda! Rwanda's national school meal program continues to make significant strides since its start in 1995. This year, the initiative has expanded its reach and resources, focusing on locally sourced ingredients to nourish over 3.6 million students across 3,978 schools. 💲 Rwanda’s School Feeding Program Budget increased by 189% from 2020/2021 🤝 National School Feeding Policy & Guidelines were approved in 2019 and 2020. 📈 The program expanded to cover 3.6 million students from pre-primary to secondary by 2021. 🏫 90% of primary schools in Rwanda are covered by school meal programs, ensuring universal access for all children. 🌱 Efforts to reduce firewood use include alternative fuels, efficient stoves, and promoting school gardens and local food sourcing. Visit https://lnkd.in/gTiW9DkP to view more country reports from GCNF’s 2024 Global Survey of School Meal Programs!

As we look ahead to the upcoming 2024 Global Child Nutrition Forum, we want to express our gratitude to all of the generous supporters making this event possible. Ajinomoto Co., Inc. Catholic Relief Services The Foundation for Fresh Produce Nakanishi Mfg Co Ltd The Rockefeller Foundation World Vision International Child Nutrition Japan Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan The Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan School Meals Coalition Your dedication to advancing child nutrition and #SchoolMeals worldwide is helping shape a brighter future for children everywhere!

On this #WorldFoodDay, we highlight the importance of preserving and promoting the growth of traditional and #indigenous food crops. 🌾🌍 The Heritage Homestead Project, founded by GCNF’s Senior Advisor, Francis Mwanza, aims to increase support for native crops in #Zambia through #homegrown school feeding. As #Zambia begins integrating traditional crops like finger millet, bambara nuts, and cowpeas into its school feeding programs, children will learn more about the value of local food systems and the nutritional and cultural significance of these traditional foods. Charity Mang’watu, a local seed collector and farmer from Simubwe Village in Choma, Southern Zambia, works alongside James Mwanza to plant a variety of opportunity crops to cultivate a future rooted in indigenous crops at the Mwinimunda Heritage Homestead Garden in Lusaka. 🌱 Stay tuned for more stories from this project as we continue to celebrate the power of indigenous foods and the role they play in #SchoolMeals worldwide. Special Envoy for Global Food Security Dr. Cary Fowler, FAO, The Rockefeller Foundation, USAID/Zambia, Ministry of Health of Zambia