The Armenia School Feeding Conference was put together in a strong collaboration between the Ministry of Education and Science of Armenia and the World Food Programme (WFP). WFP responded to the request of the Government of Armenia two years ago to assist in the development of a sustainable school feeding programme, strongly imbedded in national priorities and policy to ensure that all school children in Armenia have an opportunity to have a meal during the school day.

A key message from the conference is that the transition to a sustainable national programme depends on solidifying and mainstreaming school feeding into national policies and plans, especially education sector plans. In the face of the high food prices and the protracted economic crisis in Armenia, we must now focus on how a school feeding programme can be designed an implemented in a cost-effective and sustainable way to benefit and protect those most in need of help today and in the future.