School meals
Significant progress has been made in recent decades regarding school enrollment and school feeding. Unfortunately, school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic caused program coverage to drop by 40%, simultaneously impacting the education and nutrition of schoolchildren worldwide.
Against this backdrop, a global multi-stakeholder coalition [1] on "school feeding" was established to persuade policymakers to reinvest in school meal programs and attempt to make up for the ground lost due to the health crisis.
Within this coalition, an international research consortium was formed, organized into four communities of practice. Additionally, a dedicated network coordinates French representation in school meal research activities. In this section, you will find information regarding:
– the international research consortium, and specifically the consortium’s community of practice focused on "good examples" (best practices);
– the activities of the French research group (Resco).
Sylvie Avallone coordinates the Resco group and co-leads the "good examples" community of practice within the international research consortium.
Watch this video for an overview of the coalition and its work.
ROLE OF THE CHAIR
Since 2021, the UNESCO Chair in World Food Systems has coordinated Resco, the French research network that brings together French researchers working on school meals and acts as a liaison for French research within the international consortium. It also contributes to representing France at events and to fostering networking among researchers and faculty members.