From Climate Blind Spot to Climate Opportunity: A Call to Integrate Regenerative School Meals into National Climate Plans

September 23, 2025, New York City ― Today, during the UN General Assembly and Climate Week, we ― the Governments of Brazil, France, Somalia, together with the World Food Programme ― issue this joint call to action:

We urge all countries to promote demand for regenerative, home-grown nutritious food through public procurement, including school meal programs, and incorporate it into their national climate policies, National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), and related financing plans.

We stand united around the principle that we must move school meals from a climate blind spot to a climate opportunity. As extreme weather impacts intensify, economic headwinds persist, and global malnutrition rises, climate-resilient school meal programs offer a practical pathway for leaders to advance climate action, strengthen child nutrition, and support rural economic development.

We recall that climate-resilient food systems are part of the solution and that investment in science, sustainable and broadly accessible innovations, as well as sustainable intensification and agroecological approaches are critical to build capacities for better nutrition.

We commit to advancing and supporting country-led school meal policies that contribute to inclusive, climate-resilient development through advocacy, innovation, financing support, technical assistance, and other means. Furthermore, we stand firm in our efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty, to uphold equality, and to guarantee universal access to education and nutrition.

Together, we will expand policy and financing pathways, support national implementation efforts, and elevate the perspectives of youth, women, farmers, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities in shaping solutions. As we approach COP30 later this year, we call on our public, philanthropic, and private sector partners to advance these priorities through thought partnership, coordinated investment, and strategic support.

We invite all nations to join this effort ― to nourish children, strengthen livelihoods, and restore our planet for generations to come.

To date, 109 countries have joined the School Meals Coalition, with momentum building from the School Meals Global Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil, where governments and partners discussed accelerating the integration of regenerative, agroecological, and locally sourced school meal programs into national climate strategies, financing mechanisms, and policy frameworks. Mirroring this enthusiasm, 50 countries in the Agroecology Coalition and more than 350 farmer groups and other constituencies stand behind climate-resilient agriculture as a crucial pillar for the attainment of the Paris goals, calling for market creation to incentivize farmers to transition to regenerative, agroecological practices.