When people think of emergency response, they often think of aid trucks, warehouses or distribution centres. Few would think of a specialized school for students with disabilities.

Yet across Lebanon, local institutions are demonstrating that facilities built to support children and communities every day can also become vital frontline responders during times of crisis.

Schools, specialized education centres and vocational training institutions are not only places of learning and inclusion, but they are also becoming part of a broader shock-responsive model, capable of adapting quickly to changing humanitarian needs while continuing to support children and vulnerable communities over the long term.

In Saida, southern Lebanon, a centre that once helped provide nutritious meals to students with disabilities is now serving a very different purpose. Months into the conflict, the facility has transformed into a community kitchen serving families displaced by the recent escalation of hostilities. The meals are prepared by students from the centre’s Vocational Training Unit, including some with learning disabilities and others who had previously left school, working alongside vulnerable members of the local community. Together, they are gaining practical experience while helping support families affected by the crisis.

This approach reflects the vision behind Lebanon’s national school meals programme, implemented by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) together with the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF. By investing in local institutions, the programme is strengthening systems that support children’s nutrition and learning during stable periods, while creating the flexibility to respond rapidly during emergencies.

During stable periods the kitchen supports children’s nutrition and education through school meals programme. During emergencies it can rapidly shift providing assistance to displaced families and vulnerable communities.

Caption: Volunteers in one of WFP’s & UNICEF TVET kitchens preparing meals for families displaced by the escalation of hostilities.

Photo: © UNICEF 2026/Fouad Choufany/Lebanon

As the humanitarian crisis deepens, community institutions across Lebanon are adapting to support families affected by conflict and displacement. The centre in Saida is one example of how investments made long before the crisis is helping communities res0pond when they are needed most.

Across the country, schools have become an important part of Lebanon’s humanitarian response. More than one million people were forced to flee their homes during the war in Lebanon. As of 15 September, about 340,000 people remained displaced, including over 15,000 sheltering in collective centres, most of them public schools and educational facilities across the country.

The centre is one of four Specialized Schools for Children with Disabilities participating in Lebanon’s national school meals programme, implemented by MEHE in partnership with WFP and UNICEF.

Before the escalation of the conflict (in March 2026), the centre’s kitchen prepared meals for students with disabilities attending classes each day. Through the school meals programme, children received nutritious meals that supported their health, wellbeing and ability to learn.

Today, that same kitchen is serving a different purpose. It now prepares meals for families displaced by conflict and vulnerable members of the surrounding community—a powerful example of how investments in local institutions can continue serving communities in different ways over time.

Through UNICEF-supported cash-for-work activities, implemented with local partners, members of the surrounding community are also working in the kitchen…For the centre’s staff and leadership, the transformation has been both rapid and necessary.

Abdallah (17, Displaced) says: 

We were living in the Beirut suburbs, and when the war started, we had to leave our home and move to a TVET school that was turned into a shelter.  When I arrived, I was eager to join the kitchen initiative set up at the TVET school. It gave me the opportunity to learn cooking skills, earn income, and help prepare daily meals for displaced families and children. I feel more productive now, and I’m able to support myself and others.  

What is happening in Saida is not unique. Across Lebanon, other local institutions are also adapting to support communities, demonstrating how investments in education infrastructure can continue delivering value far beyond their original purpose.

WFP and UNICEF, under the leadership of the Government, have worked with Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions to rehabilitate and equip professional kitchen facilities, strengthening local food preparation capacity and creating opportunities for skills development and community engagement.

Caption: Volunteers in one of WFP’s and UNICEF TVET kitchens preparing meals for families displaced by the escalation of hostilities.

Photo: © UNICEF 2026/Fouad Choufany/Lebanon

Today, some of these kitchens are serving a different purpose.

As displaced families seek refuge in TVET centres and other facilities, WFP is supporting the preparation of both hot and cold meals that enable displaced people and vulnerable community members to cook and serve food for those sheltering there.

The approach not only helps provide food assistance but also creates opportunities for people affected by the crisis to contribute directly to the response while earning an income.

Together, the OPD centres and TVET kitchens illustrate how Lebanon’s school meals programme is evolving beyond traditional school feeding. By strengthening local institutions before crisis strikes, the programme is creating a more flexible system capable of supporting children during the school year, responding to emergencies when needed, and returning to its core education mission as communities recover.

These local initiatives form part of the UN’s broader emergency response across Lebanon, delivered under the leadership of the Government of Lebanon and in close coordination with humanitarian partners.

Caption: WFP food assistance is offloaded from a convoy in Rmeich, Southern Lebanon to support families affected by the ongoing conflict and displacement.

Photo: © WFP/ Khadija Dia

Since the escalation began in March, WFP has rapidly scaled up its response to support families affected by conflict and displacement. Working closely with the Government of Lebanon and humanitarian partners, WFP has provided emergency food and cash assistance to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people, including families sheltering in schools and other displacement sites. The organization has delivered hot meals, food parcels and cash assistance, while also helping maintain critical supply chains and logistics services that enable humanitarian assistance to reach communities across the country.

The continued adaptation of these facilities would not be possible without the strong partnership between the Government of Lebanon, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, WFP, UNICEF, schools, caregivers, communities and local partners working together to support children and families during times of stability and crisis alike.

The UN extends thanks to the donors supporting the emergency response in Lebanon, whose contributions are helping vulnerable families access food and other essential assistance as humanitarian needs continue to grow.