Global Child Nutrition Foundation

2026 GLOBAL CHILD NUTRITION FORUM

November 2-5, 2026 | Lusaka, Zambia

LEARN MORE

RESEARCH WEBINAR SERIES

Co-organized by IFPRI and the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF)

LEARN MORE

THE GLOBAL SURVEY OF SCHOOL MEAL PROGRAMS©

addresses a critical data gap, producing the world’s most comprehensive data resource on national and large-scale school meal programs worldwide.

LEARN MORE

THE GLOBAL CHILD NUTRITION FORUM

Our multi-day conference designed to foster learning, collaboration, and technical support for countries as they develop and implement sustainable school meal programs.

LEARN MORE

TURN KNOWLEDGE INTO ACTION

Use our country reports, infographics, and briefs to advocate for greater investment in school feeding.

LEARN MORE

Who We Are

The Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF) provides governments and their partners with knowledge, tools, and connections to build high-quality school meal programs that support all children and contribute to national educational, agricultural, economic, social protection, health, and nutrition goals.

How We Work

We work together with a global network to ensure that hunger is not a barrier for learning for any child.

Why School Meals

At least 407.8 million children worldwide receive food through their schools.

For many children in vulnerable situations, a school meal is the only nutritious meal they will receive throughout the day.
School meals are powerful tools for ensuring children attend school and are able to learn.
School meal programs have potential to be key drivers of global food system transformation, fostering demand for nutritious foods, supporting livelihoods, and promoting the sustainability of food systems worldwide.

HOW WE WORK

We engage

civil society and businesses to strengthen supply chains and increase political will for school meal programs.

We share

best practices and tools to support the creation, expansion, and improvement of national school meal programs.

We coordinate

with partners in the field—nonprofits, schools, and researchers—to raise awareness and secure robust support and resources for school meal programs.

We research

school meal programs to highlight their multisectoral intersections and identify areas of challenge and opportunity.

We Support

government efforts to effectively implement and sustain national school meal programs.

OUR PROGRAMS

The Global Child Nutrition Forum

Unites representatives from governments, businesses, international organizations, NGOs, and academic institutions to share knowledge and strategies for improving school feeding and child nutrition worldwide.

LEARN MORE

The Global Survey of School Meal Programs ©

Collects the most comprehensive data collection on national and large-scale school meal programs with information from 167 countries to date.

LEARN MORE

THE LATEST SCHOOL MEALS NEWS

March 8, 2026

Beyond the Meal: The Women Who Power School Feeding Worldwide

Every school day, millions of women make it possible for a child to receive a meal at school....

December 22, 2025

GCNF December 2025 Newsletter

This newsletter edition brings a look at GCNF’s recent work—at home and around the world. This newsletter edition...

December 19, 2025

Collective Effort for a Brighter Future: Indonesia’s Journey Toward Free Nutritious Meals

My students could not bring meals to school because they only have one time to eat in a...

Zambia's Home-Grown School Feeding program. Photo courtesy of Zambia's Ministry of Education

November 24, 2025

Lusaka, Zambia to Host the 2026 Global Child Nutrition Forum

Lusaka, Zambia — The Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF), in partnership with the Government of the Republic of...

MORE NEWS

VOICES FROM OUR FORUM

“Having attended many global gatherings across many different themes – food systems, climate change, biodiversity and nutrition – these last 30 years and more, I have to say that GCNF has created a gathering that is very special and unique in many ways.”

Danny Hunter, Principal Scientist, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

“The GCNF Forum 2024 provided a unique space for global leaders to share ideas, inspire innovation, and build partnerships that strengthen school meal programs worldwide.”

Mayank Goel, Director, Food for Development, Greater Middle East & Africa, Tetra Pak

“Moments like these remind us of the collective power of innovation and collaboration in shaping a healthier, more sustainable future for our communities. ”

Ravinder Grover, HarvestPlus Solutions

OUR COMMITMENT

Powerful things happen when parents, educators, community organizers, local businesses, and government officials within a school system share a common vision for healthy children.

Yes, a child’s prospects are changed but it is far more than that. Local farmers work with purpose knowing there’s a ready market for their goods. Jobs are created to distribute and produce food. Local economies grow stronger as children grow up to be healthy, productive citizens who can access and create opportunity.

When systems work together in this manner, school nutrition programs are sustainable and scalable. Societies develop in which hunger is not a barrier to children’s learning and local economies thrive.

Please join Global Child Nutrition Foundation in our mission to give every child a chance to learn and thrive.

Gene White

Co-Founder, Global Child Nutrition Foundation

JOIN US!

Join GCNF in helping to ensure governments and their partners have the tools, connections, and knowledge they need to implement high quality school meal programs.

Help by making a tax-deductible contribution to GCNF today.

GIVE

2026 GLOBAL CHILD NUTRITION FORUM

November 2-5, 2026 | Lusaka, Zambia

RESEARCH WEBINAR SERIES

Co-organized by IFPRI and the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF)

THE GLOBAL SURVEY OF SCHOOL MEAL PROGRAMS©

addresses a critical data gap, producing the world’s most comprehensive data resource on national and large-scale school meal programs worldwide.

THE GLOBAL CHILD NUTRITION FORUM

Our multi-day conference designed to foster learning, collaboration, and technical support for countries as they develop and implement sustainable school meal programs.

TURN KNOWLEDGE INTO ACTION

Use our country reports, infographics, and briefs to advocate for greater investment in school feeding.

Who We Are

How We Work

We work together with a global network to ensure that hunger is not a barrier for learning for any child.

Why School Meals

At least 407.8 million children worldwide receive food through their schools.

For many children in vulnerable situations, a school meal is the only nutritious meal they will receive throughout the day.

School meals are powerful tools for ensuring children attend school and are able to learn.

School meal programs have potential to be key drivers of global food system transformation, fostering demand for nutritious foods, supporting livelihoods, and promoting the sustainability of food systems worldwide.

HOW WE WORK

We engage

civil society and businesses to strengthen supply chains and increase political will for school meal programs.

We share

best practices and tools to support the creation, expansion, and improvement of national school meal programs.

We coordinate

with partners in the field—nonprofits, schools, and researchers—to raise awareness and secure robust support and resources for school meal programs.

We research

school meal programs to highlight their multisectoral intersections and identify areas of challenge and opportunity.

We Support

government efforts to effectively implement and sustain national school meal programs.

OUR PROGRAMS

The Global Child Nutrition Forum

Unites representatives from governments, businesses, international organizations, NGOs, and academic institutions to share knowledge and strategies for improving school feeding and child nutrition worldwide.

The Global Survey of School Meal Programs ©

Collects the most comprehensive data collection on national and large-scale school meal programs with information from 167 countries to date.

THE LATEST SCHOOL MEALS NEWS

Beyond the Meal: The Women Who Power School Feeding Worldwide

GCNF December 2025 Newsletter

Collective Effort for a Brighter Future: Indonesia’s Journey Toward Free Nutritious Meals

Lusaka, Zambia to Host the 2026 Global Child Nutrition Forum

VOICES FROM OUR FORUM

“Having attended many global gatherings across many different themes – food systems, climate change, biodiversity and nutrition – these last 30 years and more, I have to say that GCNF has created a gathering that is very special and unique in many ways.”

Danny Hunter, Principal Scientist, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT

“The GCNF Forum 2024 provided a unique space for global leaders to share ideas, inspire innovation, and build partnerships that strengthen school meal programs worldwide.”

Mayank Goel, Director, Food for Development, Greater Middle East & Africa, Tetra Pak

“Moments like these remind us of the collective power of innovation and collaboration in shaping a healthier, more sustainable future for our communities. ”

Ravinder Grover, HarvestPlus Solutions

OUR COMMITMENT

Powerful things happen when parents, educators, community organizers, local businesses, and government officials within a school system share a common vision for healthy children.

When systems work together in this manner, school nutrition programs are sustainable and scalable. Societies develop in which hunger is not a barrier to children’s learning and local economies thrive.

Please join Global Child Nutrition Foundation in our mission to give every child a chance to learn and thrive.

Gene White

Co-Founder, Global Child Nutrition Foundation

JOIN US!

Join GCNF in helping to ensure governments and their partners have the tools, connections, and knowledge they need to implement high quality school meal programs. Help by making a tax-deductible contribution to GCNF today.

Join GCNF in helping to ensure governments and their partners have the tools, connections, and knowledge they need to implement high quality school meal programs.

Help by making a tax-deductible contribution to GCNF today.