Assessing The Existing Evidence Base On School Food And Nutrition Policies

This report presents the outcomes of a scoping review conducted to identify and map existing evidence on the effects of school food and nutrition policies on health-related outcomes in children of school age as part of the initial preparation for undertaking the guideline development process by the WHO Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG) Subgroup on Policy Actions. In order to align with WHO’s Nutrition-friendly Schools Initiative (NFSI) framework, school-based food and nutrition interventions were assessed in terms of the impacts in four key policy areas, namely – the school community, the school curriculum, the school food and nutrition environment, and school nutrition and health services.

Schools play an important role in promoting healthy diets and good nutrition and can create an enabling environment for children. However, the school food environment is often not conducive to a healthy diet. To address this challenge, and to support Member States in implementing policy measures, as recommended by the Framework for Action from the 2014 Second International Conference on Nutrition, the World Health Organization (WHO) is in the process of developing evidence-informed policy guidelines on the food environment, including school food and nutrition interventions and policies with a focus on five interventions and policies that influence the school food environment. These five include nutrition standards or rules, direct food provision, marketing restrictions, nudging interventions and pricing policies. This review on contextual factors to be considered in the implementation of school food and nutrition policies was prepared as part of the required process for WHO guideline development.

The Nutrition-Friendly Schools Initiative (NFSI) was developed in 2006 to provide a framework for ensuring integrated school-based programmes which address the double burden of nutrition-related ill health and to become the nutrition module of the Health Promoting Schools. The NFSI has since been used around the world, including as a self-appraisal tool for schools in 18 countries, in national NFSI programmes and as part of academic research and evaluation projects. The NFSI Framework outlines 26 essential criteria within five broad components: 1. school nutrition policies, 2. awareness and capacity building of the school community, 3. nutrition and health promoting curricula, 4. supportive school environment for good nutrition, and 5. supportive school nutrition and health services. This review summarizes the synthesized evidence from 117 reviews identified as relating to the five components and the 26 essential criteria of the NFSI. The findings may be used — in conjunction with existing UN and WHO guidance and tools — to inform the work of governments, policy-makers and researchers concerned with school-based health and nutrition promotion programmes and initiatives.

Governments use food for education (FFE) programs to increase school participation and support learning through better nutrition. But how effective are these programs? This food policy review surveys the empirical literature to assess the impact of FFE programs on the students' schooling, learning, and nutrition. It examines the economic rationale for FFEs, critically assesses the evidence on their effectiveness, identifies areas where further research is needed, and offers guidelines for future program design and use.

About 1 in 5 Americans participates in at least one of USDA¿s food and nutrition assistance programs. Sound research is needed to ensure that the programs operate effectively and efficiently. Since 1998, Congress has provided funds to the USDA¿s Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP) to study and evaluate the Nation¿s domestic food and nutrition assistance programs. FANRP has become the premier source of food and nutrition assistance research in the U.S., sponsoring over 600 publications on a wide range of topics related to food and nutrition assistance. This report, prepared at the 10-year anniversary of the FANRP program, highlights some of the key research conducted during the program¿s first decade.

Identifies and describes specific government assistance opportunities such as loans, grants, counseling, and procurement contracts available under many agencies and programs.

This report summarises results of a rapid country scan on the agriculture-nutrition nexus in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). Research included a desk review of accessible policies, programmes and other documents, published and unpublished, as well as a field mission to RMI from 11 to 30 December 2017. The mission allowed additional quantitative and qualitative data gathering with interviews, site visits and a small seminar to debrief interviews, present preliminary findings and discuss potential follow-up with some stakeholders.