School feeding programs in middle childhood and adolescence
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Type
Chapter
Abstract
Almost every country in the world has a national school
feeding program to provide daily snacks or meals to
school-attending children and adolescents. The interven-
tions reach an estimated 368 million children and ado-
lescents globally. The total investment in the intervention
is projected to be as much as US$75 billion annually
(WFP 2013), largely from government budgets.
School feeding may contribute to multiple objectives,
including social safety nets, education, nutrition, health,
and local agriculture. Its contribution to education
objectives is well recognized and documented, while its
role as a social safety net was underscored following the
food and fuel crises of 2007 and 2008 (Bundy and others
2009). In terms of health and nutrition, school feeding
contributes to the continuum of development by build-
ing on investments made earlier in the life course,
including maternal and infant health interventions and
early child development interventions (see chapter 7 in
this volume, Alderman and others 2017). School feeding
may also help leverage global efforts to enhance the
inclusiveness of education for out-of-school children,
adolescent girls, and disabled persons, as called for in the
Sustainable Development Goals (see chapter 17 in this
volume, Graham and others 2017).
Although the
Disease Control Priorities
series focuses
on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), evidence from high-income countries (HICs) is included because
of the near universality of school feeding and the insights
that inclusion can provide as economies develop.
For
example, the design of school feeding in countries under-
going the nutrition transition
1
may provide some lessons
on how to shift from providing access to sufficient calo-
ries to promoting healthful diets and dietary behaviors
for children and adolescents (WFP 2013).
Agricultural development has increasingly gained
attention. It is clear that to enable the transition to sus-
tainable, scalable government-run programs, the inclu-
sion of the agricultural sector is essential (Bundy and
others 2009; Drake and others 2016). Accounting for
the full benefits of school feeding through cost-
effectiveness and benefit-cost analysis is challenging,
similar to other complex interventions, but undertaking
this accounting is critical for assessing the tradeoffs with
competing investments.
This chapter reviews the evidence about how school
feeding meets these objectives and provides some indi-
cation of costs in relation to benefits. The costs of the
intervention are well established; estimates that
encompass all the benefits of school feeding are more
challenging. The benefits must be quantified and
translated to the same unit to allow for aggregation.
Moreover, how school feeding interventions are
designed and implemented varies significantly across countries. Given that delivery of school feeding often
involves multiple sectors, common policy frameworks
and cross-sectoral coordination are required to achieve
maximum benefit (Bundy and others 2009).
Several other chapters in the volume highlight school
feeding. These include chapter 11 (Lassi, Moin, and
Bhutta 2017), chapter 20 (Bundy and others 2017),
chapter 22 (Plaut and others 2017), and chapter 25
(Fernandes and Aurino 2017).
feeding program to provide daily snacks or meals to
school-attending children and adolescents. The interven-
tions reach an estimated 368 million children and ado-
lescents globally. The total investment in the intervention
is projected to be as much as US$75 billion annually
(WFP 2013), largely from government budgets.
School feeding may contribute to multiple objectives,
including social safety nets, education, nutrition, health,
and local agriculture. Its contribution to education
objectives is well recognized and documented, while its
role as a social safety net was underscored following the
food and fuel crises of 2007 and 2008 (Bundy and others
2009). In terms of health and nutrition, school feeding
contributes to the continuum of development by build-
ing on investments made earlier in the life course,
including maternal and infant health interventions and
early child development interventions (see chapter 7 in
this volume, Alderman and others 2017). School feeding
may also help leverage global efforts to enhance the
inclusiveness of education for out-of-school children,
adolescent girls, and disabled persons, as called for in the
Sustainable Development Goals (see chapter 17 in this
volume, Graham and others 2017).
Although the
Disease Control Priorities
series focuses
on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), evidence from high-income countries (HICs) is included because
of the near universality of school feeding and the insights
that inclusion can provide as economies develop.
For
example, the design of school feeding in countries under-
going the nutrition transition
1
may provide some lessons
on how to shift from providing access to sufficient calo-
ries to promoting healthful diets and dietary behaviors
for children and adolescents (WFP 2013).
Agricultural development has increasingly gained
attention. It is clear that to enable the transition to sus-
tainable, scalable government-run programs, the inclu-
sion of the agricultural sector is essential (Bundy and
others 2009; Drake and others 2016). Accounting for
the full benefits of school feeding through cost-
effectiveness and benefit-cost analysis is challenging,
similar to other complex interventions, but undertaking
this accounting is critical for assessing the tradeoffs with
competing investments.
This chapter reviews the evidence about how school
feeding meets these objectives and provides some indi-
cation of costs in relation to benefits. The costs of the
intervention are well established; estimates that
encompass all the benefits of school feeding are more
challenging. The benefits must be quantified and
translated to the same unit to allow for aggregation.
Moreover, how school feeding interventions are
designed and implemented varies significantly across countries. Given that delivery of school feeding often
involves multiple sectors, common policy frameworks
and cross-sectoral coordination are required to achieve
maximum benefit (Bundy and others 2009).
Several other chapters in the volume highlight school
feeding. These include chapter 11 (Lassi, Moin, and
Bhutta 2017), chapter 20 (Bundy and others 2017),
chapter 22 (Plaut and others 2017), and chapter 25
(Fernandes and Aurino 2017).
Editor(s)
Bundy, ADP
de Silva, N
Horton, S
Jamison, DT
Patton, GC
Date Issued
2017-11-26
Citation
Child and Adolescent Health and Development, 2017, 3, 8, pp.147-164
ISBN
978-1-4648-0423-6
Publisher
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank
Start Page
147
End Page
164
Is Part Of Series
Disease Control Priorities
Journal / Book Title
Child and Adolescent Health and Development
Disease Control Priorities
Volume
8
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Attribution license, you are free to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt this work, including for commercial purposes, under the following conditions:
Attribution—Please cite the work as follows: Bundy, D. A. P., N. de Silva, S. Horton, D. T. Jamison, and G. C. Patton, editors. 2017. Child and Adolescent Health and Development.
Disease Control Priorities (third edition), Volume 8. Washington, DC: World Bank. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-0423-6 License: Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0 IGO
Translations—If you create a translation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This translation was not created by The World Bank and
should not be considered an official World Bank translation. The World Bank shall not be liable for any content or error in this translation.
Adaptations—If you create an adaptation of this work, please add the following disclaimer along with the attribution: This is an adaptation of an original work by The World
Bank. Views and opinions expressed in the adaptation are the sole responsibility of the author or authors of the adaptation and are not endorsed by The World Bank.
Third-party content—The World Bank does not necessarily own each component of the content contained within the work. The World Bank therefore does not warrant that
the use of any third-party-owned individual component or part contained in the work will not infringe on the rights of those third parties. The risk of claims resulting from such
infringement rests solely with you. If you wish to reuse a component of the work, it is your responsibility to determine whether permission is needed for that reuse and to
obtain permission from the copyright owner. Examples of components can include, but are not limited to, tables, figures, or images.
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3