School meals

Tasty and waste-free food – The alternative to improve the use of public resources in School Feeding Programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean

The inclusion of gastronomy in the School Feeding Programs (PAE) of Latin America and the The Caribbean is a way of strengthening these programs, by improving their efficiency through increase in acceptance and intake in menus and decrease in food waste. In this context and with the objective of guiding the countries of the region in the inclusion of gastronomy in their own PAE, this publication presents three case studies in Chile, Colombia and Guatemala.

Taking into account the current COVID-19 pandemic context, this publication also includes a food safety guide intended to be applied in the different modalities of the SAPs as long as schools are back to normal. The guide is divided into three sections: 1) Planning the reopening, 2) Implementation of good practices that guarantee the application of the principles of food safety and reduce the spread of COVID-19 and 3) Monitoring actions and follow-up during reopening. These guidelines are a compilation of the evidence so far available that will serve as support in this great task of continuing with the vital delivery of food to the students.

Compendium of case studies: Successful practices, tools and mechanisms for Home-Grown School Feeding programmes in Africa

This compendium presents main lessons learned, key innovations and good practices of each case analyzed during the learning route entitled: Successful practices, tools and mechanisms to design, implement and monitor Home-Grown School Feeding (HGSF) programmes in Africa.

Public food procurement from smallholder farmers: literature review and best practices

Governments in all parts of the world use their purchasing power to advance social, economic and environmental goals. In a similar vein, public food procurement has also been used to promote a number of positive outcomes. There is growing interest among countries and international institutions in using public food purchases to promote the integration of smallholders into markets and strengthen rural livelihoods. Despite the expansion of public food procurement from smallholder farmers, research into these novel strategies is still limited.

This paper addresses some of the research gaps by identifying best practices in promoting smallholder participation in public food procurement. It reviews the body of available literature in the field and draws key lessons learned. The findings can assist policymakers in the design and implementation of public food procurement initiatives targeted at smallholders.

School feeding and possibilities for direct purchases from family farming: case studies from eight countries

This document was developed in the technical cooperation framework between the government of the Federative Republic of Brazil and the FAO Regional Office for LAC (RLC), in order to support the design and implementation of sustainable school feeding programmes (SFPs) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), taking into account the challenges and lessons learned through Brazil´s National School Feeding Programme (PNAE for its initials in Portuguese).

It presents the current status of school feeding and the possibilities of linking it with local purchases from family farming in Latin America. National studies were conducted in Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru, towards a better understanding of the subject of school feeding, strengthening the way it is addressed, and enabling the development of sustainable programmes in selected countries.