![\"arrow\"](\"https:\/\/resource.innovamarketinsights360.com\/fif\/banners\/25eb3832-d3e2-4a14-a117-eeadfcde757c.webp\" "\\"arrow\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cSchool meals are one of the best investments a government can make in a nation\u2019s future \u2014 and the results speak for themselves,\u201d says Cindy McCain, WFP executive director.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know school meals keep children learning. We know buying food locally strengthens livelihoods for farmers, as well as the markets and communities around them. And we know this can be done in ways that are good for people and good for the planet. This record contribution shows what is possible when partners come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Novo Nordisk Foundation will provide grants of up to US$77.75 million, while the Grundfos Foundation will contribute US$3.1 million over three years.<\/p>\n
Homegrown school meals<\/p>\n
The grants are split into three installments, of which the last (US$15.4 million) is subject to approval from the Novo Nordisk Foundation. WFP says this commitment represents a \u201crecord-high\u201d contribution to its school meals program from a private sector partner.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealthy diets in childhood are the foundation for lifelong health,\u201d comments professor Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, the Novo Nordisk Foundation\u2019s CEO. \u201cThis partnership brings our existing commitment to supporting homegrown school feeding programs in Eastern Africa to a new level.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the contributions, the WFP school meals program enters its third phase, working across three areas: sourcing food from regenerative, locally grown agriculture; improving the nutritional quality of meals; and making school kitchens more climate-friendly.<\/p>\n Combined, these aspects are designed to get nutritious meals on the table while helping governments fortify sustainable food systems that will outlast the partnership.<\/p>\n Scaling school meals<\/p>\n WFP and the Novo Nordisk Foundation first worked together in Rwanda and Uganda before expanding to Kenya. The program\u2019s Phase II is reaching 321,400 students in 375 schools across the region, while Phase III takes the program to Ethiopia for the first time.<\/p>\n The new contributions also support the School Meals Accelerator, a global initiative of the School Meals Coalition that is designed to help governments with catalytic technical assistance to scale national school feeding systems and unlock improved meals for an additional 100 million children by 2030.<\/p>\n \u201cBy scaling up climate-smart, inclusive Home-Grown School Feeding programs, WFP and partner countries can build resilient local food systems that deliver lasting benefits for both children in schools and smallholder farmers,\u201d says Kim N\u00f8hr Skibsted, Grundfos Foundation CEO.<\/p>\n Impact on health and education<\/p>\nThe program will support 366,000 children with nutritious, locally sourced meals and create stable markets for over 57,500 smallholder farmers.Last year, Nutrition Insight\u00a0spoke with the author who reviewed the Home-Grown School Feeding programs in Africa. Johan Verheyden, senior research expert and CEO at Aries Consult, told us the programs hold \u201cimmense potential,\u201d<\/a> but need to confront hidden tensions in invisible labor, weak supply chains, and fragile cooperatives to create lasting change.<\/p>\n
WFP underscores that school meals are recognized as an educational intervention and a health, food systems, and nutrition investment.\u201cSafe and reliable water supply is essential for school feeding programs: it enables local food production, preparation of safe and nutritious meals in schools, and strengthens communities\u2019 ability to withstand climate shocks,\u201d he adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n