London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

In May 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed just how essential school meals are to children’s health, wellbeing, and learning. As schools closed worldwide, millions of children lost access not only to education, but to what was often their most reliable meal of the day.

In response, governments came together to form the School Meals Coalition: a global partnership, now spanning 113 member states, committed to strengthening their national school meals programmes and learning from each other’s experiences. To support that effort, the Research Consortium was launched as the Coalition’s first supporting initiative: an independent, global, multi-partner research movement dedicated to generating practical, policy-relevant evidence for governments.

Here, we reflect on five developments from the Consortium’s first five years – and six things we’re looking forward to as we enter year six. 

Looking back: five developments from our first five years

1. Building a Global Academy

Today, the Consortium’s Global Academy brings together more than 1,400 researchers, policymakers and practitioners across 700+ organisations in 130+ countries. Established to ensure more equitable participation in global evidence generation, the Academy connects governments with experts rooted in local contexts – helping move beyond extractive or North-South approaches toward research and policy guidance grounded in national realities and South-South learning.

2. Documenting “what works” in practice

Over the last five years, our Good Examples Community of Practice has undertaken more than 60 national and subnational case studies exploring how countries design, finance and implement school meals programmes. Using a standardised methodology and working directly with in-country research and policy experts, these studies are creating a growing body of comparable global evidence while capturing the realities of implementation across diverse contexts.

3. Strengthening the economic case for investment

Our Analytics & Metrics Community of Practice has carried out 14 national value-for-money studies examining the costs and broader returns of school meals programmes across diverse settings. Working closely with country experts and using a Harvard-developed modelling tool, these analyses explore return on investment across sectors including education, health, agriculture and social protection – helping governments better understand the long-term value of school meals investments.

4. Mainstreaming school meals into public policy across sectors

Over the past five years, the Consortium has helped build the evidence base for school meals as a high-impact, multisectoral investment that advances education, health, agriculture, social protection and planetary health. Key contributions include the World Bank’s Disease Control Priorities series and the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health. In 2025, the Nutrition Community of Practice co-authored UNESCO’s Learn to Eat Well report, exploring the relationship between education and nutrition. In 2026, the Diets & Planetary Health Community of Practice published a special collection on school meals in The Lancet Planetary Health, highlighting how sustainable school feeding programmes can support planetary health outcomes.

These influential outputs build on a broader body of work from the Consortium, having produced more than 100 scientific publications since we were established.

5. Contributing to global learning and idea exchange

Since 2021, the Consortium has convened researchers, governments and partners to discuss emerging evidence and relevant policy implications through our flagship Annual Showcase event, taking place every October and attracting audiences of more than 400 participants from 75 countries. In addition, our Communities of Practice have hosted more than 30 monthly webinars to generate thought exchange around emerging findings, and our technical experts have participated in more than 60 research and policy convenings at the national, regional, and global levels.

Our Food Systems Transformation Community of Practice was instrumental in launching the Regenerative Food Systems Alliance in 2025, a network and advisory platform committed to generating, sharing, and synthesising evidence and best practices on food systems and school meals programmes.

Looking ahead: six things we’re excited about in year six

1. A major new White Paper on school meals and CMD prevention

Launching in Autumn 2026, a new Consortium-led White Paper will explore the role of school meals in preventing cardiometabolic disease (CMD). Developed by a global multi-partner, multi-institution writing team, the White Paper will bring together existing evidence on how well-designed school meals programmes could support healthier lifelong dietary patterns and reduce future disease burden.

2. A new evolution of the School Meals Programming Platform

In response to high government interest in operationalising our Planet-Friendly School Meals Conceptual Framework, our Diets & Planetary Health Community of Practice is developing the School Meals Programming Platform: a more ambitious, holistic resource to support governments in designing school meals programmes that balance nutrition, sustainability, affordability and local implementation realities. The platform aims to help policymakers navigate complex trade-offs and make more evidence-informed programme decisions across sectors.

3. Identifying best practice across 99 countries

A new Good Examples review will synthesise lessons from school meals programmes across 99 countries, creating a global good for shared learning across the School Meals Coalition. The review will highlight practical examples of successful approaches to school meals programme design across a variety of socio-economic, political and environmental contexts.

4. Distilling the most high-return investments from 12 value-for-money studies

Following several years of economic analysis across multiple countries, the Consortium is developing a cross-cutting synthesis of lessons emerging from its value-for-money portfolio. This global good will deepen understanding of which school meals investments appear most cost-effective across different contexts, delivery models and policy priorities.

5. Translating the global evidence on school meals impact into policy action

The Consortium is consolidating findings from recent systematic reviews – including a 2025 Cochrane Review – to provide policymakers with a clearer, more accessible picture of the evidence on school meals impacts across nutrition, education, health and wellbeing outcomes.

6. Elevating school-age nutrition: the “next 7,000 days”

A forthcoming series of papers in the Journal of Nutrition from the NIH-led BOND-KIDS initiative will strengthen understanding of the nutritional needs of school-age children and adolescents – both internally and externally – and is set to illuminate the importance of continued investment throughout the “next 7,000 days” of life. 

Many of the initiatives highlighted above will be explored in greater depth at this year’s Annual Showcase in October 2026. Registration will open in the coming months; in the meantime, subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated on announcements and opportunities to participate.

As we enter our sixth year, the Research Consortium remains committed to supporting governments and implementation partners around the world in building stronger, more resilient school meals programmes – and to continuing the shared learning that makes that progress possible. Thank you for your support in this mission so far.