Events
Upcoming events
School Meals at the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31)
COP31, taking place in Antalya, Türkiye from 9-20 November 2026, aims to translate dialogue into action under Türkiye's presidency. The conference brings together global leaders, policymakers, scientists, businesses, civil society, and youth to accelerate climate action and strengthen international cooperation, while advancing implementation of the Paris Agreement. COP31 discussions on sustainable food systems, food security, climate finance, youth engagement and inclusive development provide a strong platform for members and partners of the School Meals Coalition to showcase how nationally owned school meal programmes can serve as a practical investment at the intersection of nutrition, education, resilience and climate action.
Child Nutrition at the Heart of the Paris Peace Forum 2026
The Paris Peace Forum, from 10-11 November, convenes governments, international organizations, civil society and more to develop practical solutions to shared global challenges. It seeks to advance governance & concrete initiatives in areas like peace and security, sustainable development, climate action, health, technology & international cooperation. Under the theme "From Sovereignty to Cooperation," the forum will have a special focus on childhood and the investments needed to support children. It offers an opportunity to highlight the role of school meals as effective public investment tools in peace, stability and human capital.
School Meals as part of The Race to 2030: Recent Progress against Hunger and Poverty, and Lessons for Acceleration
How far have we come in the fight against hunger and poverty, and what will it take to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030?
The Global Alliance's anniversary report, The Race to 2030: Recent Progress Against Hunger and Poverty, and Lessons for Acceleration, examines the current state of global efforts to end hunger and poverty, highlights key achievements delivered by Alliance members since November 2024, and outlines the actions needed to accelerate progress over the next four years. Prepared by the Alliance Support Mechanism in collaboration with FAO, ILO, the School Meals Coalition Secretariat, UNICEF and the World Bank Group, the report provides insights, lessons learned and practical recommendations to help drive faster, more coordinated action toward the 2030 goals.
School Meals Coalition Southeast Asia Regional Summit 2026
The 2nd Southeast Asia Regional School Meals Coalition Summit in Metro Manila, Philippines, will convene government leaders, local authorities, development partners, academia, civil society and financial institutions to advance sustainable school meals across the region.
Building on commitments made at the 1st summit in Cambodia in 2024, participants will review progress, share evidence and innovations, explore financing solutions, governance, data systems, and strengthen regional cooperation. Discussions aim to expand nationally owned school meals programmes, ensuring every child has access to a nutritious school meal while strengthening education outcomes, nutrition and local food systems.
Stay tuned for more information
Past Events
School Meals at the 2026 Global Child Nutrition Forum
Under the theme "From Vision to Action: Achieving Ambitious School Meal Program Objectives," the 2026 GCNF is taking place in Lusaka, Zambia, from 2-5 November 2026. The forum will bring together government representatives, development partners, researchers, civil society, and private sector stakeholders to explore practical solutions for scaling and strengthening school meal programmes worldwide. Participants will examine key issues including healthy school food environments, youth engagement, school feeding in crisis and displacement settings, sustainable financing, local procurement, job creation, climate-resilient food systems, nutrition innovation, and responsible private sector engagement.
School Meals Coalition at 54th session of Committee on World Food Security (CFS 54)
How can Indigenous Peoples’ food systems help build healthier, more resilient and culturally appropriate school meals?
Join us at CFS 54 for “The Power of Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems: Lessons from the Field and a Call to Action” on 22nd October | 8:30-9:45 | Ethiopia Room, FAO Headquarters in Rome. Co-organized by IFAD and the Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems Coalition, in partnership with the School Meals Coalition and other partners, this side event will explore how Indigenous Peoples’ food systems contribute to biodiversity, climate resilience, nutrition and culturally relevant school meal programmes. Through perspectives from governments, Indigenous leaders and development partners, the discussion will highlight practical pathways to strengthen Indigenous knowledge systems, support food sovereignty, and scale solutions that benefit children, communities and food systems worldwide.
Learn more
3rd Ministerial Task Force Meeting of the School Meals Coalition
Held every two years, the Coalition Ministerial Task Force meeting brings together the 12 Task Force member governments (the governing body of the School Meals Coalition) and special guests to review progress, endorse actions and set priorities for the next two years, while continuing to elevate school meals on the global agenda.
The Research Consortium for School Health & Nutrition's 2026 Annual Showcase
The 2026 Annual Showcase marks five years of the Research Consortium—the first initiative of the School Meals Coalition. Bringing together evidence, country experiences and emerging research, the Showcase will explore what we’ve learned about school meals and where we go next.
Across three sessions, we’ll look at the evidence to date, where school meals research is now, and new directions towards 2030 and beyond, including regional approaches, data for faster progress and innovations for healthier, more sustainable school meals.
School Meals at the Africa Food Systems Forum
Under the theme “Investing in Africa’s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience,” the forum brings together stakeholders from across Africa and beyond to explore opportunities for transforming the continent's food systems through strategic investments, innovation, and collaboration.
On the sidelines of the forum, the School Meals Coalition’s Sustainable Financing Initiative (SFI), in partnership with Rockefeller, AGRA, SNV, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, CABI, GAIN, FWGA, ICRISAT, IDRC, MercyCorps, WHH and led by Nutrition, Food Safety and Health Crosscutting Thematic Platform will host the side event: Financing Home-Grown School Feeding: an investment in Diet Diversity for Nutrition, on Thursday, 3 September | 8:00-9:30.
This session will highlight the importance of investment in school feeding to drive improved nutrition and food security outcomes, in the context of the African Food Systems transformation process and the global socio-economic and security developments.
Webinar on City School Meals Case Studies: Milan & Montpellier
11:00 AM CEST via Zoom
This webinar, Transforming School Meals through City Action, will launch the first case studies jointly developed by the Research Consortium and Cities Feeding the Future, initiatives of the School Meals Coalition. It will highlight the role of cities in designing and implementing quality school meal programmes that provide healthy, diversified and locally sourced food, and present the shared methodological framework used to document the experiences of Milan and Montpellier.
Drawing on these examples, participants will explore how local governments can develop effective school meal programmes and address operational, social, environmental and territorial challenges. Bringing together local authorities, researchers and international stakeholders, the event will also illustrate how collaboration between science and public policy can support more sustainable urban food systems.
Pacific School Food Talanoa 2026
Hosted by the Pacific School Food Network, Pacific School Food Talanoa 2026 brought together over 100 participants from 16 countries, including representatives from governments, schools, communities, civil society organisations, academia, development partners and the private sector, to share evidence, best practices, traditional and Indigenous knowledge, and community-led solutions.
The participants of the Pacific School Food Talanoa 2026, recognise that school food environments are fundamental to the health, wellbeing, education, resilience and future prosperity of Pacific children, communities and nations. Over three days, they co-developed a Pacific School Food Declaration and Regional Action Agenda, providing a forward-looking roadmap for climate-resilient school food systems aligned with national and regional priorities.
School Meals at Rome Nutrition Week
As part of Rome Nutrition Week 2026, the session 'Scaling Nutrition through Inclusive, Diverse & Local School Meals' brought together governments and partners to share experiences and discuss approaches to strengthening school meals programmes in connection with nutrition and local food systems.
This thematic session explored how school meal programmes can improve nutrition, support local economies, promote biodiversity through neglected and underutilized crops, and strengthen women’s roles across food supply chains.
School Meals Coalition co-chairs Brazil and Finland, together with Kenya, the Philippines, Coalition partners Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, WFP, including as Coalition Secretariat, and FAO spoke about school meals as a transformative tool and investment in people, communities and the future. See remarks by speakers, including Brazil's First Lady.