Brasilia, Brazil, August 19th, 2022. - The hybrid meeting of the Sustainable School Feeding Network – RAES, has already been set. On September 1, in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, leaders from Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, international experts and authorities from the Caribbean Community (Caricom), the University of the West Indies, and representatives of Embassies will participate in the Regional Dialogue of the RAES with Latin America and the Caribbean - 2022, promoted by the International Cooperation Brazil-FAO.

In this opportunity, these countries' new members of the Regional Technical Committee of RAES will be presented. The RAES is promoted by the Government of Brazil, executed by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), and by the National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE), with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the managers of the member countries. The Network has the Executive Secretariat of the Consolidation of School Feeding Programmes in LAC Project, implemented by the Brazil-FAO Cooperation.

The main theme of this dialogue will be the importance of regulatory frameworks for school feeding policy, with the presentation of Dr. Manuela Cuvi, FAO legal officer, one of the main experts on the subject.

The event will be broadcast virtually to all interested parties, with interpretation in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Also, it will be possible to access it via the Zoom platform (link below). All international organizations, professionals, institutions, entities, and other interested actors are invited to participate.

Najla Veloso, the coordinator of the school feeding project of the Brazil-FAO Cooperation, comments that "the exchange of experiences has contributed significantly, over the last thirteen years, to the consolidation and strengthening of school feeding programmes throughout the region".

School feeding in Brazil

The experience accumulated by the National School Feeding Program - PNAE of Brazil, has been described as a broad, universal, and social policy for public education. Also, PNAE Brazil is based on legal frameworks, food and nutrition education actions, and the supply of a healthy, adequate, and regional diet in educational centers, with at least 30% of the products purchased from family farming. Its structure is organized to serve daily almost 41 million students with a supply of nutritious and adequate food. The policy is executed in a collaborative system of the 27 states and the 5,570 Brazilian municipalities.

Due to these characteristics, PNAE Brazil is recognized as a reference program for several continents. "PNAE of Brazil, with the support of international organizations, has dialogued with several school feeding programmes from regions and continents. For us, it is a source of pride to be able to build together the tools to promote and consolidate school feeding programmes in other countries", said Solange Fernandes, general coordinator of the PNAE of Brazil.

Technical mission

The RAES Dialogue culminates with the closing of the technical visit of the participating countries to educational centers and cooperatives, located in the capital of Brazil, promoting dialogue with government authorities regarding school feeding and farmers involved in the provision of local food. The execution of the PNAE Brazil will be presented to the participants, showing its main advances, challenges, concepts, guidelines, legal frameworks, objectives, and diversity of implementation at the different levels of government.

"Through the RAES and the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation, we have sought permanent dialogue with the countries, towards the strengthening and consolidation of school feeding programmes and the definitive incorporation of this policy as a tool to reach the Sustainable Development Goals", said Najla Veloso. 

Registration link for the Regional Dialogue with Latin America and the Caribbean: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IzJwXMnBTTOGxs-tjWjpIg