Devex: Mali shows impact of proposed cuts to U.S.-funded school lunch programs
“…Parents and community members say [school lunch programs like the one in Soufoulaye, Mali,] funded by the United States McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, or FFE, are responsible for raising school attendance, improving nutrition, and boosting girls’ access to education. Under the proposed 2018 federal budget of President Donald Trump, however, the FFE program could be eliminated. The ‘America First’ blueprint budget released in March cites concerns that school lunch schemes lack evidence of ‘being effectively implemented to reduce food insecurity.’ Beneficiaries in Mali, however argue that not only has this school feeding program improved student health and their learning capacity, but it has also offered economic relief and social stability to local populations…” (Roby, 7/5).