You are here >> Wiki-Summaries >> Food & Nutrition >> SFN Multi-Intervention Programs
School Food & Nutrition (SFN) Multi-Intervention Programs
A multi-intervention program on School Food & Nutrition (SFN) can be used to plan, implement, maintain, scale up and sustain multiple policies, practices and services promoting healthy eating and access to healthy food.​The interventions (policies, programs, services and practices) within a SFN multi-intervention program are best organized within these domains and include:
  • Macro-policies requiring that SFN interventions be coordinated, prioritize disadvantaged populations and be reviewed periodically as well as specific policies on food sales in schools, food safety, food waste and other topics
  • Classroom instruction in nutrition, including a mandatory Health & Life Skills education curriculum, a Home Economics/Family/Consumer curriculum and coverage in other subjects as well as extended education (extra-curricular and co-curricular) activities such as school activities, routines & rituals, school gardens, working with youth agricultural groups such as 4-H and Young Farmers, on-line campaigns and projects and others
  • Providing a healthy food environment in and near schools through informing & engaging parents, working with community organizations/campaigns and students, prohibiting fast food advertising to children
  • Providing school meals, procuring locally grown food, clean water, healthy snacks, nutrition supplements and financial incentives to families and restricting sales near schools as well adequate cafeteria/lunch facilities and food services 
  • Providing nutrition information, counselling and other support services to students, staff and families with body weight and food/nutrition problems  
Several UN agencies have published guides and frameworks on such SFN multi-intervention programs, including:Coordinated SFN interventions have been examined in controlled trials and research reviews and are  recommended in several global and regional reports. (See the bibliography/toolbox on this web page).

SFN multi-intervention programs are best positioned within more comprehensive multi-component approaches such as School Health & Nutrition  (World Bank), the Essential Package of 12 Interventions (UNICEF, WFP) and Health Promoting Schools (WHO). At the same time, SFN programs should serve to strengthen rather than compete with the core components described in those broader frameworks.

As well, the advocates, practitioners and officials in SFN programs need to think beyond the interventions to examine implementation, maintenance, scale up and sustainability, organizational/system capacity, integration within education systems and systems change overall. 
This summary was first posted in September 2006. Currently it has been posted as  a "revised edition" version. The following individuals or organizations have contributed to the development of this topic: Mary McKenna, Doug McCall. We thank the Best Practice Portal of the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Astra Zeneca Young Health Program administered by Plan International (UK) and the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations  for their support on SFN projects used in preparing this summary. We encourage readers to submit comments or suggested edits by posting a comment in the space below  or by posting comments and suggestions about the summaries on this topic on the SFN Mini-Blog & Discussion page for this section.
For updates and reader comments on this section, go to our Mini-Blog on School Food & Nutrition
(The number of summaries completed or drafted in this section are listed below)
- Overview
- SFN Multi-Intervention Programs (MIPs)

- SFN Policies

- SFN Curriculum & Instruction

- SFN Extended Education - Food Services

- Food Procurement (Farm to School)