{"id":27782,"date":"2025-07-16T21:50:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T00:50:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/at-the-xi-regional-school-feeding-forum-raes-is-highlighted-as-a-key-strategy-for-strengthening-school-meals-across-the-region\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T22:20:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T01:20:32","slug":"at-the-xi-regional-school-feeding-forum-raes-is-highlighted-as-a-key-strategy-for-strengthening-school-meals-across-the-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/at-the-xi-regional-school-feeding-forum-raes-is-highlighted-as-a-key-strategy-for-strengthening-school-meals-across-the-region\/","title":{"rendered":"At the XI\u202fRegional School Feeding Forum, RAES is highlighted as a key strategy for strengthening school meals across the region"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES) was created in\u202f2018 through an agreement between Brazil\u2019s National Fund for Education Development (FNDE) and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), with technical support and an executive secretariat provided by the FAO. Today the network brings together 18\u202fLatin American and Caribbean countries to strengthen a policy that currently benefits 85\u202fmillion students. <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paulo Beraldo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honduras, 16 July 2025<\/strong>\u202f\u2014 The Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES) took part in the XI\u202fRegional School Feeding Forum, organised by the Government of Honduras and the World Food Programme (WFP) in San Pedro Sula from 15 to 17 July. The forum  is a major platform for dialogue on the progress of the school feeding programmes in the region, and RAES also hosted a side event for several of its member countries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meeting brought together high\u2011level participants\u202f\u2014 ministers, secretaries, ambassadors, professionals from a range of institutions and school feeding managers from several nations. The RAES is a trilateral South\u2013South cooperation initiative led by the ABC, the FNDE and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the forum, RAES and its founding institutions\u202f\u2014 ABC, FNDE and FAO\u202f\u2014 reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing and expanding school feeding programmes. Thanks to country engagement and FAO technical assistance, these programmes are helping to eradicate hunger and improve nutrition for more than 85\u202fmillion students across Latin America and the Caribbean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RAES: a powerful collective strategy <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FAO Chief Economist and Acting Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean M\u00e1ximo Torero presented the organization\u2019s work in the region and highlighted the creation of RAES as a decisive factor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSchool feeding programmes are crucial: they reach those who need them most, cushion the impact of crises and strengthen community resilience. FAO has helped establish more than 23\u202f000 Sustainable Schools in the region, promoting educational gardens, local procurement and models that link food, production and territorial development,\u201d he said, citing the Sustainable Schools methodology, active in 14\u202fcountries with support from Brazil\u2013FAO International Cooperation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSchool feeding is an investment in human development with a high rate of return. Beyond innovative financing, we must improve the efficiency of existing funding sources and target public spending more effectively. The Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty plays a key role by providing a platform for policy and resource coordination, enabling impactful interventions and higher social and economic returns,\u201d Torero added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Political commitment <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saulo Ceolin, director for food and nutrition security at Brazil\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and co\u2011coordinator of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, underlined the long\u2011standing support provided by Brazil\u2013FAO International Cooperation to school feeding programmes since 2009. He stressed that the collaborative approach contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and highlighted the importance of the commitment of the 18\u202fRAES member countries to strengthening the policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable food systems <\/strong>
Daniela Godoy, FAO Senior Food and Nutrition Security Officer for the region, also addressed the forum. \u201cSchool feeding programmes are a critically important policy for building sustainable agrifood systems and healthy diets, and they contribute to food security and better nutrition for millions of pupils,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Meeting of RAES member countries <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the sidelines of the forum, RAES organized a parallel session with member states and invited guests. Najla Veloso, FAO senior school feeding specialist and RAES executive secretary, emphasised the importance of dialogue spaces and the need to seek synergies with institutions working on this topic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The session was also attended by M\u00e1ximo Torero and Daniela Godoy (FAO); Saulo Ceolin (Brazilian MFA\/Global Alliance); Paola Barbieri (ABC); and Karine Santos, general coordinator of Brazil\u2019s National School Feeding Programme (PNAE) at the FNDE. Delegates from Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Jamaica, Guatemala, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela took part. The goal was to consolidate national, regional and global linkages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRAES intends to remain an active part of this movement, whose goal is to advance school feeding programmes based on the human right to adequate, healthy food, offering fruits, vegetables, and tasty meals to every student,\u201d Veloso said. \u201cWe also presented several strategies that are currently being rolled out within RAES.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paola\u202fBarbieri, project analyst at ABC, underscored the institution\u2019s commitment to regional cooperation on school feeding. \u201cThe Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES) is a powerful cooperation mechanism that strengthens school feeding programmes in each of the Network\u2019s member countries, while also fostering the establishment of a regional agenda and supporting the achievement of the School Meals Coalition\u2019s goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of coordination <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karine Santos, general coordinator of Brazil\u2019s PNAE, described intersectorality as \u201cfundamental\u201d. \u201cBringing multiple stakeholders together to discuss specific aspects of the school feeding programmes has a direct impact on better implementation. In Brazil, the Inter\u2011ministerial Chamber for Food and Nutrition Security, which unites more than twenty ministries, is a prime example of coordination among agencies and entities in this field,\u201d she noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

See other pictures of the event: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Sustainable School Feeding Network (RAES) was created in\u202f2018 through an agreement between Brazil\u2019s National Fund for Education Development (FNDE) and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), with technical support and an executive secretariat provided by the FAO. Today the network brings together 18\u202fLatin American and Caribbean countries to strengthen a policy that currently benefits 85\u202fmillion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":27814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,495],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-news-home"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27782"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27786,"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27782\/revisions\/27786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redraes.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}