Provide Food To Underprivileged Children And Help Their Education

Free school food programs operating in developing countries help impoverished children by encouraging their education. Children who are malnourished cannot learn; lack of nourishing food is a major barrier to education and ultimately to self-reliance. Two hundred million children under five years old are malnourished and malnutrition is at least partially responsible for one-half of child deaths worldwide. The cycle of malnutrition ® sickness ® diminished learning ensures that children will remain in poverty throughout their lives.

Meal programs in schools entice children, who may otherwise not eat regular healthy meals, to enroll in school and stay in school. High quality food also motivates parents to keep their children in school. Children who are fed nutritious food at school have better health and higher levels of concentration, short-term memory, classroom performance, and verbal skills. Enrollment and dropout rates, especially among girls, improve dramatically when children receive food at school. Children who stay in school are more likely to rise out of poverty and contribute to a productive society.

School feeding programs provide meals and/or snacks in the schools that serve the world’s most underprivileged children. Sometimes take-home food is also provided so preschoolers and parents also benefit from healthy food.  In some programs families only get food if their school age children enroll and stay in school.

Many of the organizations involved in school nutrition programs, like Food for Education and the  AkshayaPatra Foundation, are charitable non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that rely on public money and/or private donations for funding. Based in the United Kingdom, Food for Health is the repository of information for school feeding programs in over 100 countries. The AkshayaPatra Foundation feeds one million children in India every day. Because of the Foundation’s efficiency, high technology food distribution system, one child can be fed for an entire year for only $24-28 (Rs.1200). Where there is government support, AkshayaPatra’s funds feed three times as many children as when the foundation is the only source of aid.

AkshayaPatra encourages community involvement, which benefits the community partners as well as the foundation. Monetary donations, even online donations, are of course needed and always welcome. But there are other valuable ways to support this and other NGOs in helping children: 1) Put a box for loose change at home, at school, or at work and send the proceeds to AkshayaPatra or another school food program. 2) Tell a friend how AkshayaPatra and other similar organizations feed millions of hungry children each year, and ask for their support. 3) Buy gifts through Matchless Gifts, which donates a large portion of its sales income to international charities that help feed children. 4) Volunteer at a local school food program.

Programs that feed children in schools provide immediate nourishment for hungry children and allow them to learn, support healthy and productive lives as these children grow to adulthood, and make possible long-term opportunities for future generations. Supporting these organizations has long-lasting impact on the poor countries of the world.