Food and Nutrition Service has provided technical assistance in the development of such programs in other countries. Over 120 million children worldwide are not enrolled in school, and tens of millions more drop out before achieving basic literacy. Many of these children are among the estimated 250 million who work. A global school meals and pre-school nutrition program would help countries encourage more of their young people to enroll and stay in school and reduce the incidence of child labor. It has the potential to raise academic performance and increase literacy rates, which can help their economies grow faster and their people fulfill their potential.
School meals encourage parents to keep their children in school.
A CRS project in Ghana, for example, is aimed at increasing educational opportunities for girls. Using take-home rations and an information campaign that stresses the importance of educating girls, CRS has seen the number of girls enrolled in school jump by 88 percent, and their attendance rise by 50 percent. In other words, not only are more girls starting school, they also are sticking with it. And a United Nations report concludes that when young girls stay in school, they bear fewer children. So education leads to more sustainable population growth and improved environmental and economic conditions.