Putting locally grown and traditional foods back on school menus in the Pacific is at the heart of a new call by representatives from governments, educators, researchers and international development organisations.
The Pacific School Food Declaration states that Pacific Island Countries (PICs) face interconnected challenges, including the triple burden of malnutrition, rising diet-related non-communicable diseases, increasing climate and disaster risks, dependence on imported food, and the erosion of traditional food systems and knowledge. It says these pressures are undermining children’s health and learning while weakening local food systems and connections to traditional, locally produced foods.
It calls for governments and partners to place children’s nutrition, health and wellbeing at the centre of education systems and to recognise healthy school food environments as essential investments in learning and development. It defines school food environments broadly to include school meals, lunchboxes, canteens, food vendors, school gardens and other food initiatives.
It also calls for greater investment in locally sourced school food and stronger links between schools and farmers, fisherfolk and food producers across the Pacific. It urges the protection and promotion of local, traditional and Indigenous foods, including aquatic foods, recognising their importance for nutrition, livelihoods, cultural identity, environmental stewardship, resilience and food sovereignty.
The Declaration was ratified by participants at the Pacific School Food Talanoa regional meeting, held in Nadi, Fiji, recently. The meeting brought together more than 100 participants from 16 countries representing governments, schools, communities, civil society organisations, academia, development partners and the private sector.
Edible ferns are a traditional, locally produced food enjoyed across many Pacific islands.
The role of vegetables
Vegetables are likely to play an important role in putting the ambitions of the Declaration into practice, representing an opportunity for WorldVeg to build on extensive research in the region. This includes the three-year, Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)-funded Colour My Plate project, which investigated the drivers of food choice among primary school children in Fiji, and PIC More Veg, funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), which aims to make vegetables more available, affordable and desirable in Pacific Island Countries.
“Producing resilient, nutritious vegetables for school meals will be an important part of turning the Declaration into action,” said Ee Von Goh, a food environment and policy scientist at WorldVeg, who was among the signatories of the Declaration.
“Pacific Island countries are home to a rich diversity of nutritious traditional vegetables, including bele, taro leaves and edible ferns, yet many have become less common in children’s diets. Limited local production, fragile supply chains, inadequate cold storage and growing dependence on imported processed foods have all contributed to the shift.
“The Declaration provides an opportunity to reconnect schools with local farmers and help make healthy, locally grown foods a more regular part of children’s meals.”
Broad ambitions
Other priorities in the Declaration include expanding nutrition education and practical food skills, supporting school gardens and food production, strengthening teacher training, investing in climate-resilient school food initiatives, improving access to long-term financing, and increasing the participation of children and young people in shaping school food programmes.
The Declaration also sets out a two-year regional agenda to turn its ambitions into action. Priorities include identifying government champions for school food, expanding healthy school food programmes, strengthening coordination across key sectors, and establishing a mechanism to monitor progress through the Pacific School Food Network. It also calls for the issue to be raised through regional political forums and at international meetings such as COP31.
The Declaration describes itself as a shared platform for advocacy, collaboration and collective action. Participants committed to advancing its priorities within their own countries, organisations and communities while strengthening regional cooperation through the Pacific School Food Network.
The Declaration was developed collaboratively through the Pacific School Food Talanoa, which brought together representatives from the governments of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, New Zealand, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru, alongside international and regional organisations including UNICEF, the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Pacific Community (SPC), Pacific Farmer Organisations, the Global Child Nutrition Foundation, and the WorldVeg. Universities, schools, civil society organisations and private-sector representatives also took part in developing and ratifying the declaration.
This work aligns with the WorldVeg Action Areas on Healthy Diets and Climate Resilience, outlined in the WorldVeg Global Strategy 2026-2033.
