It costs only 25 cents (US) per day to fill one of the red cups that WFP uses to distribute food in its school feeding programs. Donors can “Fill the Cup” online with a contribution at WFP's website or in the U.S. at Friends of WFP.
Why is school feeding important for people to support?
School feeding has a positive impact on the daily lives of the children. It promotes education by providing meals to children to increase their energy and concentration in the classroom. The guarantee of a meal at school boosts attendance rates by providing an incentive to attend class. School feeding also helps to close the gender gap between girls and boys in the classroom by encouraging parents to send their daughters to school.
School feeding helps to decrease instances of child labor. Children go to school instead of work and household expenditures on food are reduced because the children are being fed in school.
The programs help to promote peace building. In Casamance, a region in the south of Senegal, school feeding supports social cohesion and stabilization for displaced families living in host communities while awaiting return to their home villages. Children are able to go to school and parents become involved in canteen management activities such as cooking and managing supplies.
School feeding improves health and nutrition in children. It is a platform for activities by partners in promoting health and sanitation. WFP-supported schools are targeted for de-worming activities, the building or refurbishment of separate toilets and latrines, and projects to ensure access to clean drinking water.
Investments in education yield high returns to both the individual and society through economic growth and development.
WFP promotes the purchase of food commodities at the local level, thus reinforcing the local economy and boosting local agricultural production.
School feeding helps countries to achieve the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially the goal of education for all.
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