School Feeding Forum - April 12, 2016

On April 12, SNV USA, George Washington University's Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration and the Global Child Nutrition Fund will host a school feeding forum in Washington, D.C. The forum will explore national school feeding and other public food programs and their potential to boost domestic agricultural production and local economic growth by procuring goods from smallholder farmers, the rural poor and women.

April 12, 9:00a.m. – 2:45p.m.
Room 402-404, Cloyd Heck Marvin Center
George Washington University,
800 21st St NW, Washington, DC 20052

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The event will bring together school feeding and agricultural development stakeholders from NGOs, government, multilateral organizations and academia to share lessons from current development programs and research on strengthening the procurement and supply sides of the school feeding market. Presentations will generate discussion on how school feeding can amplify the benefits of public procurement to spur economic growth and employment in rural regions.

The forum will consist of three panels:

1. School Feeding as a Structured Demand Market: the premise and the potential
   This panel will define structured demand markets and will provide the background on efforts to date to link structured demand markets to larger development objectives.

2. Ready to Tender: preparing farmers to supply to school feeding programs
   School feeding programs can inspire farmer organizations to improve their business operations to meet the demands of school feeding, and other formal, competitive markets. This panel will present initiatives to equip farmers and their organizations with the knowledge and skills required to bid on and fulfil school feeding orders.

3. Procurement Governance: making a space for farmer participation
   Beyond the agricultural mandate of school feeding, public procurers need tools and processes to facilitate inclusive public procurement. This panel will share examples of adjustments to procurement processes and building the capacity of all actors to create a space for smallholder farmer inclusion in school feeding.