Good Practices in School Gardens and School Meals: Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean (2024)

As part of food and nutrition education actions and a component of Sustainable Schools, the Programme encourages school garden initiatives, considering their potential to transform food habits of current and future generations, training students to be aware of the impacts of food production on the environment and on agri-food systems. In addition, with the greater impact of climate change, this educational tool becomes even more relevant as it can offer concrete contributions to the mitigation of climate effects.

Since 2009, the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme for School Meals, an alliance between the National Fund for Education Development (FNDE), the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), has been developing activities to strengthen and institutionalise school meal programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

About 2 billion people in the world are overweight or obese due to a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. Around 133.4 million Latin Americans and Caribbeans do not have access to a healthy diet. In addition, this region has the highest healthy food costs (LAC Food and Nutrition Security Overview, 2023).

Given this scenario, the cooperation has promoted actions aimed at offering healthy and adequate menus, public procurement from smallholder farming, improvement of school infrastructure and food and nutrition education actions such as school gardens, exchanges of experiences, training and technical visits between 26 LAC countries, within the framework of the Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES).

2025 January

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