📋 Tender Overview
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The Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) have announced a SLE 158.4 million (approximately USD 6.6 million) contribution to support the countrys National School Feeding Programme. The funding, provided through the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE), is intended to provide daily hot and nutritious meals to more than 276,000 schoolchildren during the 2026/2027 academic year.
The announcement, made in Freetown, underscores government efforts to keep children in school while addressing nutrition needs through school meals. WFP said it will continue supporting implementation through technical, operational and logistical assistance, building on its partnership with the Ministry.
Background: home-grown school meals and government ownership
School feeding is a long-running approach used in many countries to improve access to education and support child nutrition. In Sierra Leone, the programme is aligned with the governments Feed Salone Strategy, which emphasizes national systems and procurement linked to local food production.
The WFP-government partnership is designed to be nationally owned, with WFP supporting delivery capacity rather than replacing government structures. For the 2026/2027 school year, the new contribution aims to sustain and expand meal provision to a large student population.
The contribution and who it will serve
Under the 2026/2027 National School Feeding Programme, the daily meals are expected to reach more than 276,000 schoolchildren. The initiative is implemented with the education ministry through the programme jointly implemented by WFP and the government.
WFP said the school meals are intended to help children stay in school and learn and thrive. Alongside education and nutrition objectives, the programme also links meals to local economies through procurement plans that are intended to promote smallholder farmer participation.
Implementation support and local procurement
WFP stated that it will continue to support the National School Feeding Programme through technical, operational and logistical assistance. In addition, the partnership will promote local procurement from smallholder farmers in alignment with the Feed Salone Strategy, with the goal of strengthening rural economies and supporting agricultural livelihoods.
During the 2025-2026 school year, WFP reported that over 257,000 children in more than 1,200 schools received daily hot and nutritious meals through the home-grown school feeding programme. WFP further noted that the programme created sustainable market opportunities for more than 22,000 smallholder farmers.
Why school meals matter in the education and nutrition agenda
School meals can play a practical role where households face economic constraints, making schooling difficult to sustain without additional support. By combining daily nutrition with education continuity, school feeding programmes can contribute to broader efforts to improve learning opportunities while also supporting food systems and rural livelihoods.
For Sierra Leone, the partnership also reflects a strategy of building resilience in service delivery through government-led programmes with external technical and logistical support.
Why This Matters
For NGO leaders, nonprofit professionals and development practitioners, the Sierra Leone-WFP announcement illustrates how school feeding can be financed through national budgets and implemented with support from multilateral agencies. It also highlights the operational choices involved in maintaining service coverage across large numbers of schools and linking procurement to smallholder farmers.
The development has direct relevance to organizations working on education access, child nutrition, social protection and livelihoods. It may offer lessons for program design around national ownership, supply chain and logistics capacity, and the integration of local food systems into social investments.
Key Details
Initiative or programme: National School Feeding Programme (home-grown school feeding)
Lead organization: Government of Sierra Leone (Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, MBSSE)
Partners: United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
Funding amount: SLE 158.4 million (approximately USD 6.6 million)
Geographic focus: Sierra Leone
Target groups: More than 276,000 schoolchildren (2026/2027 academic year)
Duration or timeline: 2026/2027 academic year
Expected reach or outcomes: Daily hot and nutritious meals to help children stay in school and support learning and nutrition; local procurement from smallholder farmers is expected as part of the Feed Salone Strategy alignment
Why This Matters
The Government of Sierra Leone and WFPs planned continuation of home-grown school feeding provides a concrete example of how governments can fund and lead school meal programmes at scale, with WFP support for technical and operational delivery. For NGOs and civil society organizations, the announcement points to practical considerations in program design--especially logistics, continuity of service across many schools, and procurement approaches that can connect education support to local agricultural livelihoods.
It also reflects wider development priorities around education access and child nutrition, while reinforcing the relevance of linking social investments to resilient local food systems. The reported prior-year results--meals reaching over 257,000 children across more than 1,200 schools and creating market opportunities for more than 22,000 smallholder farmers--offer context for partners assessing what delivery models may work in similar settings.
