Feeding futures: SNV’s systems approach to home-grown school meals
This report outlines SNV's systems-based approach to home-grown school feeding, rooted in close collaboration with governments and a commitment to locally led solutions.
Abstract
Estimated economic returns range from US$3–US$9 per dollar invested, up to US$35 from a multisectoral perspective. Yet only 27% of schoolchildren in low-income countries are enrolled in national school feeding programmes, despite many governments having established home-grown policies.
This paper presents SNV's systems approach to home-grown school meals across East Africa, arguing that fragmented, single-sector interventions are insufficient to address the interconnected barriers of financing, infrastructure, local procurement, and environmental sustainability. Drawing on programme experience across Uganda, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Kenya, the paper demonstrates how integrating agriculture, nutrition, renewable energy, and water systems—anchored in government-led frameworks and community ownership—can create scalable, locally financed school feeding models.
Key findings show that community-mobilised financing, regenerative smallholder supply chains, and clean cooking investments are mutually reinforcing levers for systemic change. SNV's experience reaching 1.5 million children offers a replicable model for development organisations seeking to bridge the gap between national policy and effective implementation.
For more information
please contact Monique Beun - Global Lead Food Security and Nutrition