SNV joins School Meals Coalition and convenes regional workshop in Kampala

SNV has signed the Declaration of Support to the global School Meals Coalition, joining governments, international organisations, research institutions and civil society in a shared commitment to strengthen and scale integrated school meal programmes.

The declaration sets out a clear objective: to ensure every child has access to a healthy and nutritious meal in school by 2030. It recognises school feeding not just as a nutrition intervention, but as an anchor point connecting education, health, agriculture, and local food systems.

For SNV, the decision to sign on reflects both alignment and opportunity. School feeding is not new to SNV’s work. From parent-led dairy initiatives in Uganda to regenerative agriculture in Ethiopia and fortified grain supply chains across the region, we have long worked alongside partners at the intersection of food, health and livelihoods.

What the Coalition offers is a coordinated platform to bring these efforts into greater alignment, sharpen focus on systems-level outcomes, and support governments in building long-term, sustainable programmes.

“School feeding has always been more than a meal,” said Monique Beun, Global Lead, Nutrition, SNV. “And therefore the way forward on equitable and sustainable school feeding programmes will be in how we work together cross-sectorally in ways that respect local ownership, share what we know, and stay honest about what’s needed.”

As a first step in deepening regional engagement, SNV will host a Regional Visioning Workshop on School Feeding in Kampala from 14–16 May, bringing together government focal points, regional actors, private sector partners and implementing organisations from across East Africa. The goal is clear: to identify where stronger collaboration can lead to more resilient, locally anchored school feeding systems.

Participants will explore specific challenges, from supply chain gaps to funding models, and surface examples of what’s working. The event also aims to strengthen peer connections across countries and sectors, grounding the discussions in real programme experience. A field visit to a local school feeding site in Uganda will provide additional context.

The workshop is also a space for collective reflection, thinking through how actors working on nutrition, clean cooking, regenerative farming, and procurement can come together around school feeding in a more coherent way.

Topics on the agenda include:

• Improving the reliability and transparency of local sourcing and procurement systems;

• Scaling clean cooking technologies in institutional settings;

• Linking school feeding to climate resilience and smallholder livelihoods;

• Identifying diversified and sustainable financing models, including community contributions, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and climate-linked funding.

The event is designed to prioritise interactive discussion, collaborative mapping and joint problem solving. This format reflects a broader intention to support regional learning and practical alignment—not to duplicate existing efforts or replace national leadership.

Ultimately, our participation in the School Meals Coalition and in convening the Kampala workshop both reflect a wider approach of connecting technical delivery with systems change, and investing in relationships that can shift what is possible when stakeholders come together.