Can School Meals Boost Learning Outcomes? Evidence from Burkina Faso

What is it about?

In many developing countries, school canteen programs are used to encourage children to attend school and improve their learning. These programs usually provide at least one nutritious meal a day to students. But do these meals actually help improve academic performance? Our study looks at this question in the context of Burkina Faso, a West African country where food insecurity and low school performance are both major concerns. We use national-level data to examine whether students who benefit from school canteens perform better in reading and mathematics compared to those who do not. To make a fair comparison, we use a statistical approach that accounts for differences between children who have access to a school canteen and those who don’t, such as their location, age, or family background. This allows us to estimate the specific impact that school meals may have on learning outcomes. Our results show that school canteens have a positive effect on students’ academic performance, especially in mathematics. The findings suggest that providing meals at school not only supports children’s nutrition and health but also helps them concentrate and succeed in the classroom. This research can inform education and health policymakers in Burkina Faso and other countries facing similar challenges. Investing in school feeding programs may be a cost-effective way to improve both educational access and learning, particularly for the most vulnerable children.

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Photo by Doug Linstedt on Unsplash

Photo by Doug Linstedt on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study is one of the few to examine the direct link between school canteen programs and students’ academic performance in a low-income, food-insecure context like Burkina Faso. While school feeding programs are widely used across Africa, most existing research focuses on attendance or nutrition—not on learning outcomes. What makes our work unique is the use of recent national survey data and a robust statistical method that closely matches students with and without access to canteens. This approach helps isolate the specific effect of school meals on performance in reading and mathematics, rather than simply observing general trends. Our findings are especially timely as many countries, including Burkina Faso, are reconsidering how to allocate limited education and health budgets. By showing that school canteens can boost learning—especially in math—this research provides strong evidence to support the expansion and improvement of such programs. This work contributes not only to education and nutrition policy debates but also to broader efforts to improve equity and development outcomes in vulnerable regions.

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