Ghana is intensifying efforts to align its national school feeding programme with local food systems, as policymakers and researchers seek to address persistent gaps in child nutrition while strengthening agriculture and rural livelihoods.
The shift was highlighted during a recent multi-stakeholder webinar that also marked the launch of the Ghana Community of Policy & Practice (CoPP), bringing together stakeholders across nutrition, agriculture, education and development sectors.
Speakers said the country’s school feeding programme, established in 2005 to reduce hunger, boost school attendance and support domestic food production, now reaches about 4.5 million pupils nationwide.
However, despite its scale and impact on enrolment and short-term hunger, experts noted that the nutritional quality of meals remains uneven, with limited dietary diversity and insufficient inclusion of protein-rich and micronutrient-dense foods.
“School meals are about much more than feeding children – they are linked to nutrition, education, local agriculture, livelihoods, and the strength of our food systems,” Professor Francis Bruno Zotor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences said at the event.
Stakeholders identified a key constraint: while Ghana produces a wide range of nutritious foods locally, structural bottlenecks—including procurement systems, supply chain inefficiencies and caterer practices—limit their integration into school menus.
To address protein gaps, programme officials are scaling up the use of soybeans in school meals, supported by efforts to train caterers and strengthen sourcing from local farmers. Soy has been identified as a cost-effective way to improve protein intake while reducing reliance on more expensive or imported ingredients.
At the same time, researchers are pushing for greater inclusion of aquatic foods. Studies by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Food Research Institute indicate that fish—rich in essential nutrients such as protein, iron, zinc and vitamins, remains underutilised in school feeding despite strong domestic production.
Proposed solutions include incorporating fish powders into soups and stews and introducing processed products tailored to existing school meal preparation methods.
Evidence suggests these interventions could significantly improve dietary outcomes. Research on the programme has shown that meals often rely heavily on starchy staples and include only a limited number of food groups, constraining their overall nutritional impact.
Financing challenges also persist. Delayed payments to caterers, sometimes stretching for months, continue to affect their ability to procure diverse and higher-quality ingredients, according to stakeholders.
Beyond supply and financing issues, behavioural barriers were also highlighted. Experts said nutritious options such as whole grains are often overlooked due to perceptions about taste, preparation complexity and limited familiarity among caterers and pupils.
Participants emphasised the need for practical interventions, including cooking demonstrations and hands-on training, to improve acceptance and utilisation of local foods.
Community engagement was identified as another critical factor. Researchers noted that while many communities are willing to contribute land, labour and produce to support school feeding, they are often excluded from formal planning processes.
Emerging models such as community-led school farms, producing nutrient-rich crops and supporting food education, are demonstrating how stronger local participation can improve both supply stability and nutrition outcomes.
The newly launched CoPP platform is expected to play a coordinating role by linking government agencies, researchers, development partners and community actors to better align policy with on-the-ground implementation.
Stakeholders said the evolving approach reflects a broader policy shift: repositioning school feeding from a social protection intervention to a strategic tool for food systems transformation.
With many of the required foods already produced domestically, experts stressed that the priority now is to strengthen linkages between production, procurement and consumption to ensure that nutritious local foods reach schoolchildren more consistently.
