ENOUGH School Meals
Take a moment to reimagine your school days, the clatter of plates or lunch boxes, the anticipation of what food awaited you. Now, imagine if that meal was the only one you'd have all day — or if you'd never experienced it at all. This is the reality for millions of children worldwide. Yet, amidst this disparity lies a powerful vision: a world where no child has to sit through class hungry. It's a future where every child is provided with a nutritious school meal daily, giving them the energy to thrive and succeed.
We have ENOUGH. We believe every child should have access to at least one healthy and nutritious school meal every day.
No child should be hungry in school
World Vision stands alongside children in calling for Governments to expand the coverage of healthy and nutritious school meals. Stand with us.
Add your name if you’ve had ENOUGH.
School-age children are severely impacted by the global food crisis. Only 2 out of 5 children have access to school meals, a crucial source of nutrition for many. School meals programmes are a vital lifeline, helping struggling families to provide for their children's needs.
Kids don’t learn well on empty stomachs. Good quality school meals give children a chance at balanced nutrition and the opportunity to learn. School meals help create a safe and supportive environment for vulnerable adolescents, encouraging families in poverty to keep their children in school. Girls who receive more education tend to marry later and have delayed pregnancies.
Act now and call for every child to receive a healthy and nutritious school meal.
No child should be hungry in school
Children will lead us. Let's listen to their voices:
It’s not just about food
Beyond improving children’s health, productivity, and education outcomes, our holistic approach creates numerous benefits to child well-being. School meals encourage girls to stay in school, keeping them safe from child marriage, and prevent children from being forced into child labour. Enough is enough.
Peace Building: School meals foster community stability and security, shielding against child labour, early military recruitment, and forced marriage by creating a protective environment for children.
Education: School meals enhance academic success by ensuring children are well-nourished, enabling better concentration, active participation, and improved educational outcomes.
Health and Nutrition: Nutritious school meals alleviate hunger and promote overall health, fostering physical growth, cognitive development, and reducing malnutrition-related illnesses.
ENOUGH for every child
Equity and Equality: School meals promote fairness by providing essential nutrition and education to all children, regardless of socio-economic status, levelling the playing field and empowering disadvantaged students.
Climate Action: School meal initiatives support climate action by emphasising sustainable food practices, reducing carbon footprints, and fostering a climate-smart generation.
Economic Growth: Investing in school meals creates jobs, stimulates local markets, and boosts productivity, contributing to poverty reduction and economic empowerment within communities.
Food System Transformation: School meal programs drive food system transformation by promoting healthier diets, sustainable agriculture, and food sovereignty, fostering resilience and equity in food systems.
We’re already seeing a difference
30 million more children benefit from school meals today compared to before the pandemic. School meal programmes have created approximately four million direct jobs in 85 countries. When struggling children are given school meals, they are more likely to attend school. Studies have shown programmes can increase enrolment by an average of 9 percent.
Last year, working with governments and partners, we supported over 1.3 million children in 20 countries with nutritious school meals, often their only meal of the day.
Learn more about school meals
The distribution of school meals is disproportionate compared to the need.
Just 18% of school children receive school meals in low-income countries compared to 61% in high-income countries. While low-income countries have increased their domestic investment, there has been a reduction in international support, down from US$267 million in 2020 to US$214 million in 2022.
We’re standing alongside children in calling for Governments to expand the coverage of healthy and nutritious school meals.
Stand with us. Together, we can ensure every child receives a healthy and nutritious school meal by 2030.