Mission
To explore and support the role of school meals in transforming food systems towards more sustainable practices—by promoting regenerative agriculture, agrobiodiversity, gender empowerment, and the use of nutritious, locally grown foods.
Why?
Food systems are at the heart of many global challenges, from malnutrition and rural poverty to environmental degradation and gender inequality. Transforming food systems is essential for delivering healthier diets, supporting livelihoods, and building resilience to climate change. School meals can be a powerful driver of that transformation—creating demand for diverse, sustainable, and locally produced foods that benefit both children and communities.
How?
The CoP works with governments and partners to identify and evaluate different pathways for linking school meals to sustainable food systems. With support from IDRC, we are working with five countries in Africa (Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Senegal), to explore how programmes are supporting agrobiodiversity, the inclusion of micronutrient-rich crops, and more equitable opportunities for women in agricultural value chains. Additionally, with support from BMZ, this CoP is conducting a landscape analysis on school meals programmes and food systems, and case studies on the benefits of home-grown school feeding in Rwanda and India. The CoP also promotes knowledge-sharing between countries to accelerate the shift toward planet-friendly, nutrition-smart school meals.
Co-Chairs
Publications
- Singh S et al. Promoting climate-resilient agriculture and food security through school feeding (2026) The Lancet Planetary Health
- Pastorino S et al. Planet-friendly school meals: opportunities to improve children's health and leverage change in food systems (2024) The Lancet Planetary Health
- Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition, School Meals and Food Systems: Rethinking the consequences for climate, environment, biodiversity, and food sovereignty (2023)
Past events
- Research Consortium Annual Showcase 2024 – short presentations:
- Transforming Food Systems Through School Gardens, 5 July 2024
- Food system challenges for Home-Grown School Feeding programmes: Supply-side factors, 2 May 2024
- Aquatic foods in school meals, 25 March 2024
- School Meals & Food Systems: Building a Community of Practice, 24 January 2024
- School meals for catalysing food system transformation, Research Consortium Annual Showcase 2023
Resources
- Regenerative Food Systems Alliance website
- Blog: How school meals could transform Africa’s food systems, Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition, April 2025
Collaborators
- Silvia Pastorino, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (Planet-Friendly School Meals Lead, Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition)