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Every year, on March 1st, Africa unites to celebrate the African Day of School Feeding (ADSF), underscoring the transformative role of school meals in education, nutrition, and socio-economic development across the continent. This year’s theme, "A Decade of Nourishment: Celebrating the Past, Securing a Just Future", offers an opportunity to reflect on achievements, address persistent challenges, and reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that every child has access to a nutritious school meal.
School Feeding: A Decade of Progress
Over the past ten years, school feeding programs have emerged as a catalyst for educational inclusion, child health, and community resilience. By linking school feeding programs to local agricultural supply chains, these programs have boosted school enrolment and improved academic performance while creating stable market opportunities for smallholder farmers, especially in rural areas.
Despite African countries' growing commitment to Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programs, significant challenges remain in expanding the coverage of these programs to reach the most vulnerable children. Currently, 65.9 million children across Africa benefit from school feeding programs, representing an increase from the 38.4 million children benefiting in 2013. However, despite this progress, challenges remain.
Education and nutrition: a powerful combination
The link between nutrition and learning is undeniable: a well-fed child is more focused, learns better, and performs well academically. School meals contribute to a 9% increase in school enrolment and an 8% improvement in attendance rates. In West and Central Africa, school feeding programs are essential to tackling both the education and nutrition crises. By providing children with nutritious, locally sourced meals, these programs support equitable access to quality education, aligning with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which envisions resilient and inclusive education systems across the continent.
Economic and social benefits: Empowering communities
School feeding programs benefits extend beyond schools and students—they are also a powerful driver of local economic development. Across Africa, women make up over 60% of smallholder farmers. By sourcing food from local producers, school feeding initiatives create sustainable income opportunities for women farmers, reinforcing food security at the community level.
In West and Central Africa, several national initiatives illustrate the impact of this approach:
- Ghana: the school feeding program supports more than 3.5 million students, while strengthening local food supply chains.
- Senegal: the integration of local food products into school canteens has enhanced the nutritional quality of school meals while boosting rural economies.
- Benin: the adoption of a National School Feeding Law in 2023 has established a long-term commitment to school meal programs.
Moreover, school feeding plays a crucial role in promoting gender equality. In many communities, financial constraints, household chores, and early marriage often prevent girls from attending school. A guaranteed school meal serves as a strong incentive for families to keep their daughters in school, contributing to breaking cycles of poverty and creating new opportunities for girls.
CERFAM: Advancing School Feeding in Africa
The Regional Centre of Excellence Against Hunger and Malnutrition (CERFAM), under the authority of the VicePresident of the Republic of Co te d'Ivoire, plays a pivotal role in promoting and scaling up good practices in school feeding across Africa. As a regional hub for knowledge-sharing, CERFAM supports African countries by:
- Facilitating south-south and triangular cooperation, enabling peer-to-peer learning exchanges, where African countries share experiences and good practices in HGSF models.
- Mobilizing policy and technical assistance, supporting governments in developing, refining, and implementing national school feeding policies – such as Benin’s 2023 National School Feeding Law.
- Strengthening evidence-based approaches, conducting research, documenting good practices, and promoting communities of practice to improve school feeding program design and impact assessment.
- Mobilizing partnerships and advocacy, convening governments, financial and technical partners, private sector actors, and civil society to build stronger, sustainable school feeding systems that drive education, health, and economic development.
Call to Action: investing in the next decade of school feeding
As we celebrate a decade of progress, the 2025 African Day of School Feeding serves as a call for greater investment to sustain and expand school feeding programs.
Governments: strengthen legal and financial frameworks, ensuring school meal initiatives are nationally owned, adequately funded, and properly monitored .
Civil societies and local communities: advocate for policies that prioritize school feeding as a fundamental right for every child, while ensuring community engagement in program implementation.
Donors and development partners: significantly increase funding commitments, particularly toward models that strengthen local agriculture, facilitate technical expertise and knowledge-sharing through regional hubs like CERFAM to strengthen national strategies and south-south cooperation. Private sector: develop innovative financing models, invest in local food production and supply chains, and create partnerships that enhance the efficiency and sustainability of school meal programs.
With collective action, we can build a future where no child goes to school hungry, every student receives a nutritious meal, and school feeding remains a cornerstone of Africa’s sustainable development agenda. Now is the time to commit to a decade of nourishment, education, and prosperity for future generations.