Finland to chair School Meals Coalition Global Summit in Fortaleza

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend the Global Summit of the School Meals Coalition in Fortaleza, Brazil, on 18–19 September. Finland co-chairs the School Meals Coalition along with France and Brazil, and Minister Tavio is the Global Champion for School Meals.

Launched in 2021, the School Meals Coalition is a global initiative led by Finland, Brazil and France. The Coalition has already 109 member countries and over 140 partners. Its goal is for all schoolchildren worldwide to have access to healthy and nutritious meals at school by 2030.

“Finland has a history of providing school meals dating back about 75 years, and we know that school meals foster learning, health, and gender equality and promote local food business. We’re sharing our experiences with countries setting up school meal programmes and letting them know what Finnish businesses can offer in this sector,” says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio.

The summit is held under the high patronage of President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva. Brazil is hosting the summit, which will be attended by 80 member countries and approximately 60 partners, including representatives of UN agencies, civil society organisations, cities and municipalities and the academic world. The summit aims to strengthen the commitment of countries and partners and to promote school meals around the world. The Coalition encourages countries to expand and invest in their school meal programmes.

According to the latest figures, 466 million children now have access to school meals – a 20 per cent increase on 2020. The increase has been especially prominent among low-income countries. Funding for school meals has also doubled globally, with most funding coming from national budgets. The School Meals Coalition has accelerated this positive change.

Finland supports the School Meals Coalition’s secretariat, which is led by the World Food Programme (WFP). Finland is also funding the development of school meals programmes in fragile African and Middle East countries and in Ukraine through the WFP.  Finland has provided EUR 12.5 million in funding for the WFP's action on school meals between 2023 and ⁠2025.

The Coalition’s first ministerial meeting was held in Helsinki in autumn 2022.

Correction on 17 September 2025: The reference to the Brazilian President's participation in the summit has been removed. Addition: The summit is held under the high patronage of the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The number of attending partners is approximately 60, not 56 as previously stated.