Increase in number of children receiving and school providing meals (through national budget allocations and homegrown school feeding).

The importance of a diversified diet for nutrition cannot be underplayed. A diversified diet ensures an adequate intake of essential vitamins and minerals. Ensuring children receive the recommended daily intake of macro- and micronutrients strengthens their learning ability and contributes to long-term health outcomes for the child. However, family diets are often lacking key vitamins and minerals, such as iron, essential for brain development, and vitamin B and zinc as well as omega 3, which all improve the children's ability to concentrate and learn.

The UN World Food Programme currently works with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport and the National Social Protection Council to promote access to quality education, nutritious diets and social assistance for children at preprimary and primary school. The school feeding programme will transition by 2026 to a nationally owned homegrown school meals model that sources ingredients from local farmers, incorporates food quality and safety, encourages community ownership and supports local economies.

The preferred model for school feeding in Cambodia is homegrown school feeding. Nutrition-sensitive value chains and guidelines and standards for school feeding are being developed to support the homegrown school feeding model.