Percent of children of primary and secondary school-age who received food through school meal programs

Definition

The percent of children of primary or secondary school-age who received food through their schools (in the form of national or large-scale school meal programs) in the reference school year. This includes out-of-school children, as well as enrolled students. 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 share of children in the country who are the beneficiaries of national or large-scale school meal programs. While not all countries aim for universal coverage with their school meal programs, this indicator measures the extent to which children are reached by (or benefit from) this type of social safety net.