Fortaleza to Host the Leading Global Summit on School Feeding

School Feeding will be the topic of a meeting in Fortaleza

On September 18 and 19, Fortaleza (State of Ceará, Brazil) will host the 2nd Global Summit of the School Meals Coalition, the largest international gathering dedicated to school feeding. The event is organized by the federal government through the Ministry of Education (MEC) and the National Fund for Education Development (FNDE), in partnership with the Coalition Secretariat, coordinated by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC/MRE).

The Global School Meals Coalition currently brings together more than one hundred countries and international partners united by the goal of expanding access to healthy and nutritious meals for children and youth throughout their school years. Established in 2021, the Coalition held its first major summit in Paris in 2023, when Brazil assumed co-chairmanship of the initiative alongside France and Finland.

A Global Reference – Coordinated by the Ministry of Education, the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) is one of the largest of its kind worldwide. It currently ensures daily meals for nearly 40 million students across 150,000 schools, totaling 50 million meals every day and representing an annual investment of R$5.5 billion.

Beyond addressing nutritional needs, the program serves as a strategy to improve education quality in line with the Ministry of Education’s guidelines. It enhances learning outcomes, reduces school dropout rates, and fosters healthy habits among children and adolescents. PNAE also played a key role in removing Brazil from the Hunger Map, alongside consistent public policies aimed at combating food insecurity and promoting citizenship.

Brazil is also recognized for its extensive experience in international technical cooperation. Upon joining the Coalition, the country brought the successful track record of its public policy, closely linked to the Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES). Since 2018, RAES has supported countries across Latin America and the Caribbean in consolidating their school feeding policies, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Over the past decades, Brazil has also supported more than 80 countries in strengthening school feeding programs through initiatives led by ABC/MRE, in collaboration with the WFP Centre of Excellence against Hunger in Brazil and with FAO.

Global Progress and Commitments – The 2nd Summit will highlight the progress achieved since Paris, including the launch of the report “The State of School Feeding 2024.” It will also serve as a platform to mobilize efforts toward expanding the global goal: reaching an additional 150 million children with school meals. Discussions will focus on sustainable financing, integration with family farming, innovation in food systems, the role of cities, and the strengthening of international cooperation.

The PNAE is part of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, reaffirming its significance as a strategic public policy at the international level.

Fortaleza – The choice of Ceará’s capital as the host city underscores both Brazil’s leadership and its Northeast region’s role on the international stage. The summit takes place at a moment when the country celebrates its removal from the Hunger Map, the result of consistent public policies aimed at combating food insecurity and advancing citizenship.