On 16 January 2026, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Novo Nordisk Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the World Food Programme (WFP) launched the School Meals Accelerator, a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at reaching an additional 100 million children with nutritious school meals by 2030. The program starts with over USD 80 million in funding from the four founding partners, with additional support from France and the Global Partnership for Education. It seeks to connect countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean with technical assistance to strengthen and scale national school meal programs, leveraging pooled resources and expertise to combat hunger, reduce poverty, and improve food and nutrition security globally.
Announced at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin, BMZ’s involvement highlights Germany’s commitment to innovation in development cooperation. The initiative promotes home-grown school meal programs and integrates them into broader food systems strategies to foster equity, resilience, and sustainable development. Reem Alabali Radovan, Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, emphasized that school meals are transformative tools for education, health, and empowerment, combining innovation and partnership to fight hunger and poverty.
Rania Dagash-Kamara, WFP’s Assistant Executive Director for Partnerships and Innovation, noted that governments are leading a historic transformation of school meal programs. The Accelerator provides technical support to turn these commitments into sustainable systems that benefit children, communities, and national food security. Professor Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, highlighted that healthy diets in childhood are critical for lifelong health, and the initiative helps countries design programs that improve nutrition and prevent chronic disease. Elizabeth Yee of The Rockefeller Foundation described school meals as an underleveraged investment in development, capable of strengthening communities, supporting farmers, and advancing food and nutrition security.
School meals have become a global policy priority. Since 2020, funding for these programs has nearly doubled, reaching USD 84 billion annually, with 99 percent now coming from domestic budgets. Currently, at least 466 million children benefit from school meals, an increase of 80 million in just four years. Despite growing popularity, integrating school meals into national systems and securing long-term sustainable financing remains a challenge.
The School Meals Accelerator builds on the School Meals Coalition, a network of over 110 governments and more than 150 non-profit, philanthropic, and research partners hosted by WFP. To date, 60 countries have submitted national commitments with concrete targets. The Accelerator brings together governments, non-profit organizations, and philanthropic partners to integrate school meal programs into broader strategies, pool expertise and resources, and provide demand-driven technical assistance tailored to country-specific needs.
School meal programs are a proven pathway out of poverty, improving education quality, increasing school participation, and boosting learning outcomes. They strengthen local food systems by sourcing sustainably, supporting farmers, stimulating rural economies, and fostering climate resilience. By linking global sustainability goals with local livelihoods, these programs contribute to both human development and economic growth.
The initiative highlights the complementary roles of the founding partners: BMZ focuses on development and poverty reduction, the Novo Nordisk Foundation promotes health and nutrition, The Rockefeller Foundation drives innovation and investment in food systems, and WFP provides the operational capacity and expertise to deliver meals at scale. Together, the partners aim to transform school meals into a sustainable, systemic investment that nourishes children, strengthens communities, and supports long-term food and nutrition security.
