Number of children who received food through school meal programs

Definition

Number of children of all ages in the country who received food through their schools (in the form of national or large-scale school meal programs) in the reference school year. This includes children in preschool, primary school, secondary or vocational school, or other school levels (e.g., special education). This information was gathered through the Global Survey of School Meal Programs, with surveys completed by government-appointed focal points who gathered information from official sources; in countries with multiple school meal programs in operation, this is inclusive of all programs.

Relevance

This captures the reach of national or large-scale school meal programs in the country—the total number of children who benefit from such programs.