The degree to which HGSF is articulated in national policy frameworks varies from country to country, but in general, a policy basis for the programme helps strengthen its potential for sustainability and the quality of implementation.

In all the cases where countries are implementing their own national programmes, school feeding is included in national policy frameworks.

Indeed, the largest programmes have the highest level of politicization, for example, in India where the programme is supported by a Supreme Court ruling and in Brazil where it is included in the Constitution.

In many developing countries, school feeding is mentioned in the countries’ poverty reduction strategies, often linked to the agriculture, education, nutrition, or social protection sectors, or in sectoral policies or plans.

National planning should ensure that the government has identified the most appropriate role for HGSF in its development agenda. With donor harmonization efforts underway, it is increasingly important that, if made a priority, HGSF is included in sector plans, which form the basis for basket funding or sectorwide approaches that determine the allocation of donor resources.

In the case of Ghana the following strategies and policies clearly act as mechanisms to achieving the goals of the Ghana School Feeding Programme in areas of health, education and agricultural development. 

• Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy II (GPRS II).
• Education Sector Plan (2003 – 2015)
• Imagine Ghana Free from Malnutrition
• Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy
• National Social Protection Strategy

At the policy level there is commitment from many ministries that are key to the success of the GSFP, however a cross-sectoral policy has been absent until now. At present the Government of Ghana is drafting the newest edition of the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), which will include focussed content detailing the significance of the GSFP in addressing poverty. 

Substantive literature developed by the GSFP National Secretariat, details the intended functions of the GSFP in addressing poverty and how the programme will contribute to health, education and agricultural production. The Annual Operating Plan also outline the roles of relevant ministries and stakeholders:

• Ghana School Feeding Programme, Annual Operating Plan, 2010