Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF)

Why School Meals Matter

For many children in vulnerable situations, a school meal is the only nutritious meal they will receive throughout the day. 

For every $1 invested in school meals, there's a return of $9 across education, health, nutrition, and social protection. Your donation helps nourish children, strengthen communities, and build a healthier, more prosperous future. 

GCNF champions this powerful return by working hand-in-hand with governments and partners in over 100 countries to strengthen and expand sustainable school meal programs.

School meals are powerful tools for ensuring children attend school and are able to learn and have the potential to be key drivers of global food system transformation by fostering demand for nutritious foods, supporting livelihoods, and promoting the sustainability of food systems worldwide.

Join Our Mission

At the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF), we provide governments and their partners the knowledge, tools, and connections to build high-quality school meal programs that support all children and contribute to national educational, agricultural, economic, social protection, health, and nutrition goals.

How We Work

We are a global network working together to ensure that hunger is not a barrier for learning for any child.

When you donate to GCNF, you become a powerful partner in our commitment to:

• Support governments to effectively implement and sustain national school meal programs
• Engage civil society and businesses to strengthen supply chains and increase political will for school meal programs
• Share best practices and tools to support the creation, expansion, and improvement of national school meal programs
• Coordinate with partners in the field—nonprofits, schools, and researchers—to raise awareness and secure robust support and resources for school meal programs
• Research school meal programs to highlight their multisectoral intersections and identify areas of challenge and opportunity

WA Roots, Global Commitment

GCNF's Founder, Gene White, made Whidbey Island her home in 1987 and spent over three decades strengthening her local community by helping school districts develop wellness policies to prevent obesity and promote student health, volunteering at the local food bank, and promoting food preservation traditions with Native American partners. Gene’s passion for nourishing children didn’t stop there. She took that same commitment global, establishing the Global Child Nutrition Forum in the late 1990s and founding the Global Child Nutrition Foundation (GCNF) in 2006 to ensure that every child, everywhere, has access to nutritious school meals. Today, GCNF continues this mission, empowering communities worldwide to build sustainable school meal programs. Join us in honoring Gene’s legacy—your support connects our Washington roots to a world where no child goes hungry!