The National School Feeding Programme (NSFP) of Lesotho
Masetsong, Maseru, Lesotho (Kingdom of Lesotho).
Availability, Marketing and Regulation
National
Citizens/Consumers, Businesses
Ongoing
The policy addresses child hunger and poverty, strives for health equity, and promotes gender equality by keeping girls in school. The program provides at least one nutritious meal per school day to learners in primary and early‐childhood institutions in Lesotho. It also aims to support local smallholder farmers by linking them to school meal supply chains ('home‐grown school feeding'). The method involves government coordination (through the Ministry of Education and Training) with development partners (e.g., the World Food Programme (WFP)) to procure food locally, deliver meals in schools, and monitor nutrition and education outcomes.
Lesotho has high rates of child under-nutrition, high unemployment, and frequent climate-related food insecurity. In response, the government developed a National School Feeding Policy to ensure children receive meals at school and to strengthen local agriculture. The country has operated with school feeding programmes for decades (since the 1960s), including projects from WFP. In 2015, the program involved a policy review and was subsequently revised and they joined the 'School Meals Coalition'. The home-grown component also emphasises sourcing from local farmers and creating rural livelihood opportunities.
The programme is owned by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), specifically the School Self-Reliance and Feeding Unit (SSRFU). Monitoring is done through school inspections, food supply chain reviews, and partner reports (e.g., WFP monitoring of home-grown procurement).
In day-to-day work, schools receive meals (e.g., porridge and lunch) via the national feeding scheme; local farmers supply produce under the home-grown component. In 2019, the programme served around 390,000 students daily and procured significant volumes of maize meal and pulses.  Success factors include increased school attendance, improved nutrition, and rural economic linkages. Challenges include funding delays, supply shortages, dependency on donor contributions, and the need to ensure consistent quality of meals.