Coalition's engagement
Scaling Nutrition through Inclusive, Diverse, and Local School Meals
As part of Rome Nutrition Week 2026, the School Meals's Coalition 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 below remarks by country representatives, including Brazil's First Lady.
Local Food Solutions for Global Nutrition Impact
Led by WFP, the plenary session examined how locally produced, fortified and nutrient‑dense foods can support the full nutrition continuum, from prevention to treatment, through a combination of market-based and programmatic platforms, including home‑grown school feeding, nutrition‑sensitive social protection and humanitarian response. Discussions highlighted how coordinated public‑private action can expand access to safe, nutritious foods while strengthening local food systems and building resilience to future shocks. Representatives from Ecuador and Kenya underscored about school meals as being central for food system transformation and community transformation, and the Senegalese chef Christian Abégan highlighted that nutrition works best when it connects with culture, habits, and identity.
