The event was aimed at school cooks and nutritionists working in the National School Feeding Programme.
Paulo Beraldo and Palova Brito
Brasília, Brazil, June 2, 2025 – The Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES) took part in the event “Training and Recognition of Those Who Feed Brazil,” held on May 29 and 30 in Brasília. The event was aimed at school cooks and nutritionists working in the National School Feeding Programme (PNAE), implemented by the National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE). The gathering marked the beginning of a series of five regional seminars focused on the training and recognition of these professionals.
The meeting addressed the role of schools in promoting food security and sustainable development, as well as the importance of incorporating food and nutrition education (FNE) into the school curriculum. The event brought success stories, expert lectures, and thematic panels.
FAO Representative in Brazil, Jorge Meza, participated in the opening of the event, where he emphasized that school feeding is a vital strategy to ensure the four pillars of food security—especially food access and quality—and to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He also highlighted the significant contributions that FAO and the Brazilian government have been making to support the strengthening of school feeding programmes across Latin America and the Caribbean.
RAES was represented by Najla Veloso, FAO Senior School Feeding Expert and Executive Secretary of the Network, who spoke on FNE and its contributions to sustainable development. Veloso explained that, since 2012, food and nutrition education has been regarded as “a field of knowledge and ongoing practice, transdisciplinary and multiprofessional in nature, aimed at promoting autonomy and the adoption of healthy eating habits, within the framework of the human right to adequate and healthy food, as well as food and nutrition security.”
RAES is a South-South trilateral cooperation initiative jointly implemented by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ABC/MRE), the National Fund for the Development of Education (FNDE/MEC), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Veloso also discussed the use of school gardens as a pedagogical strategy for FNE and outlined four core principles for incorporating school gardens into educational curricula:
i) recognizing the transdisciplinary nature of knowledge;
ii) overcoming the fragmentation of knowledge into isolated disciplines;
iii) developing knowledge, skills, and values from the collective learning generated within the school setting;
iv) working with teachers across various subject areas through their respective content.
Training
The exchange of experiences over the two-day event solidified the seminar as a space for both training and networking among school feeding professionals and municipal managers.
The initiative was promoted in collaboration with Itaipu Binacional, the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Southern Minas Gerais, and the Foundation for the Support of the Development of Extension, Research, Professional and Technological Education (Fadema).
“We celebrate the strength and value of school feeding as a cornerstone for quality education. By joining forces with extraordinary partners, we commit to placing school feeding at the center of an agenda that goes far beyond the plate of food,” said FNDE President Fernanda Pacobahyba.
Technical Note on Food and Nutrition Education
During the event, Technical Note No. 4816230/2025 was released, addressing the inclusion of food and nutrition education in the school curriculum and in the political-pedagogical projects of basic education schools linked to the National School Feeding Programme across federal, state, district, and municipal networks.
The note provides a contextual overview of the relevance of FNE in the learning process, a historical account of related discussions within FNDE, and offers theoretical references and practical suggestions for the various actors involved in the implementation of the PNAE, encouraging their role in consolidating FNE efforts within school environments.
The document also emphasizes the importance of incorporating FNE into schools’ political-pedagogical projects and engaging the school community actively in their development. The aim is to ensure that FNE becomes increasingly integrated into the school routine, rather than being treated as an isolated or disconnected initiative from the school’s educational planning.
Najla Veloso also spoke about the significance of the technical note as a major step toward strengthening the PNAE, underscoring its potential to inspire similar initiatives in other countries—while respecting each country’s specific context.
Get to know the Technical Note
