SVG joins School Meals Coalition

St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has become the first Eastern Caribbean country to sign on to the School Meals Coalition, a global Member State-led initiative established to promote school health and nutrition.

The goal of the School Meals Coalition is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to receive a healthy, nutritious meal in school by 2030.

The Coalition brings together 88 governments, the United Nations (UN), civil society, the private sector, and academia to drive actions to re-establish, improve, and scale-up school meals programmes.

As a member of the Coalition, SVG will continue work to restore and improve the quality of school meals for children and families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, vulnerable populations and those affected by climate shocks. SVG will also join global efforts to improve policies and programmes related to maximizing health, nutrition and education; as well as achieving greater sustainability by strengthening linkages with local food systems.

SVG was officially welcomed as a new member of the School Meals Coalition at a Global Summit held in Paris this year, which was attended by Education Minister, Curtis King and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Myccle Burke.

In April this year, the World Food Programme (WFP) conducted an official mission to SVG in response to the Government’s thrust to strengthen the delivery and quality of school meals across the country. The mission led to SVG joining the School Meals Coalition. Currently, the Ministry of Education and National Reconciliation and WFP are discussing the next steps and technical support to address gaps and opportunities identified during the mission.

The School Feeding Programme became operational in SVG on 1 February 1984 and was fully funded by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) from 1984 to 1996. In 1996, WFP ended its operations in the country and the Ministry of Education took full ownership of the programme.

Following the 2021 eruptions of the La Soufriere volcano, WFP supported the provision of school meals to 669 children, and funding for kitchen equipment to enhance delivery capacity at different locations.

WFP and the Government of SVG have partnered to support the national agenda to achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals.