School feeding programs

In-kind transfers, with food via school feeding programs or mother/child supplement programs being the most common, but also of take-home food rations, school supplies and uniforms, and so on... 

Procurement efficiency, which assesses whether the program achieved value for money in relation to purchases of inputs. Examples of procurement efficiency indicators might be the average cost of food procured for school feeding programs,... 

A few school feeding programs also provide an income transfer in the form of food to take home. The Ethiopian World Food Programme (WFP) school feeding program provides... 

Ministries of health tend to run supplemental feeding programs, while the education systems run school feeding programs that provide on-site food. Some programs rely on the private sector to provide meals. 

Food provided through school feeding programs may contribute to improved learning by alleviating short-term hunger in addition to its effects as a food supplement and an incentive to attend school. 

School feeding programs might be perceived as solving the problems of school-age children and therefore might deter initiatives to address other important determinants of nutrition, learning, and health. 

School feeding programs can stigmatize poor beneficiaries unless the targeting is not observable. 

Note that in many ways school feeding programs are similar to CCT programs, as they provide nutritional support to children and also promote access to education. However, the two types of programs differ in other aspects such as the selection of beneficiaries. 

Another aspect that may be examined is how efficiently the program transforms its inputs into outputs. Table 9.5 provides an example of cost-efficiency analysis where the measure is the cost of delivering 1,000 calories via various school feeding programs. This is a fairly straightforward case with closely comparable outputs and inputs across different programs. 

In-kind food transfers. Provide additional resources to households by making food available when they need it most in the form of food rations, supplementary and school feeding programs, or emergency food distribution. 

School feeding programs. In-kind food transfers that provide meals or snacks for children at school to encourage their enrollment and improve their nutritional status and ability to pay attention in class. 

Del Rosso, Joy Miller. 1999. School Feeding Programs—Improving Effectiveness and Increasing the Benefit to Education A Guide for Program Managers. Oxford, UK UK Partnership for Child Development. 

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