How Effective Are Food-for-Education Programs? A Critical Reassessment

Education and child health are important tools for poverty reduction and economic development. With the recent focus on universal primary education as a Millennium Development Goal, many developing countries have made dramatic improvements in primary school enrollment rates, but the rates of primary school attendance and secondary school participation remain low. One reason is that school-age children in poor households are often needed to work on the farm or to care for younger siblings so that parents can work. Another reason is that poor health and short-term hunger cause children to miss school. Children who are hungry during school also learn less effectively. Food-for-education (FFE) programs, which include meals served to children in school as well as take-home rations conditioned on a child’s school attendance, are a popular means of improving school participation while fostering learning and supplementing the inadequate diets of school-age children. When the meals provided are well timed, they can reduce short-term hunger and help children concentrate and learn. The food is often fortified, which helps address nutritional deficiencies and may improve health and cognitive functioning. Figure 23.1 shows the pathways through which FFE programs may affect participants’ education and nutrition outcomes. FFE programs raise the benefits of school participation, increasing enrollment and attendance. This may improve learning and educational achievement, which may be bolstered by improved nutrition and cognitive function. FFE programs may improve nutrition and health