As school meal programmes continue to expand globally, so too is the body of evidence from impact evaluations. Given the multiplicity of objectives and the diversity of contexts in which school meals programmes are implemented, there is still a need for more rigorous evidence on the impacts of school feeding and the underlying causal mechanisms. Reviews over the past decade have shown mixed effects of school meals on nutritional and educational outcomes. We have conducted a rapid review of the most recent evidence, and have included studies which came out in the last five years, in addition to those that were published in the decade before that. As a result, we have added ten new evaluations, some of which focus on the large national programmes in India and China, that have not been included in any systematic review to date.
So, what does the latest evidence from the last 15 years, a period of rapid expansion in school meals programmes across the developing world, tell us?