He says students who received school meals were better able to memorize and reason. He says they learned and understood more than those students who did not receive meals.
The study found that standardized test scores went up an average of 7 percentage points in French and 8.5 percentage points in math. The effect was even greater for girls and for the youngest students.
The World Food Program says that about $75 billion goes into school feeding programs each year worldwide. Most of this money comes from governments.
However, the WFP says only 18 percent of children in the poorest countries receive a daily meal at school. This compares to nearly half of children in middle-income countries.
Bettina Luescher is with the World Food Program.
“School meals are a crucially important part and play a huge role in schools around the world. It means, in practicality, kids can concentrate. They can study. They stay in school. They will send their own children to school one day. Girls will have fewer children if they have school meals and an education; they marry at a later stage. And there’s a huge impact on how they grow up to become strong, smart adults.”
Luescher says that school feeding programs also help protect children from crises -- like droughts, war, or sudden increases in food prices.
“School meals are a way of keeping children in school. It’s often the only way that families can afford to keep their children fed. Sometimes it’s the only meal that some of these children get.”
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25