Bill 281.

Summary.

The bill defines school meals as the planned provision of nutritious food during the school day, distinguishes among meal periods, and defines a food ration as the food that meets the requirements for each period. The Hunger Zero Program proposes breakfast, a snack, and lunch for students at public schools, from preschool through upper secondary education. Its objectives include meeting at least 60% of daily nutritional requirements through school meals; supporting learning and healthy eating habits; purchasing domestic products; addressing the needs of vulnerable areas and Indigenous regions; assessing nutritional status; educating the school community; and developing gardens and teaching farms.

The program would be established as a permanent, free, and mandatory policy throughout the school year. Distribution would continue during distance learning or emergencies through alternative arrangements. The Ministry of Education (Ministerio de Educación) would include the necessary resources in its annual budget. For the snack, the bill specifies fortified domestic milk, porridges made from domestic products, cheese, and a nutritionally enhanced biscuit; in hard-to-reach areas, it permits enriched porridge made from domestic corn. Products would be processed in accordance with standards of the Directorate General of Industrial Technical and Technological Standards (Dirección General de Normas Técnicas y Tecnológicas Industrial) and the Pan American Technical Standards Commission (Comisión Panamericana de Normas Técnicas). Cheese could be procured by region according to schools’ storage conditions. The guidelines require varied foods suited to students’ age, health, and culture, with priority given to local purchases and participation by the school community.

The Ministry of Education would formulate food policies, adapt implementation to each region, and coordinate regional offices and schools. It would be responsible for dining halls, kitchens, storage, refrigeration, furniture, supervision, audits, and operating plans. Regional offices would support implementation and report results and needs; schools would receive supplies no later than the first month of classes and thereafter as often as necessary. The National Directorate of School Nutrition and Health (Dirección Nacional de Nutrición y Salud Escolar) would design menus according to age, health, and cultural context, set standards based on recommendations from the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud), and check portions, preparation, and storage. The Ministry of Health would oversee food safety, inspect facilities and food-handling practices, and certify nutritional quality. The two bodies would coordinate their work and submit annual reports.

Packaging for program products would be distinguishable from commercial packaging and bear a notice prohibiting their sale, with the design approved by the Ministry of Education. Purchases would be subject to the Public Procurement Law. Adjustments to percentages due to changes in domestic production would require certification from the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario), included in the tender documents. Beneficiary schools would establish gardens and teaching farms coordinated by both ministries, using agroecological practices and serving as learning spaces for Natural Sciences and Family and Development. The Ministry of Education would provide training, tools, and support; organizations, businesses, and local producers could participate.

The Ministry of Health would conduct quarterly weight and height assessments of beneficiaries. Results and indicators would be published quarterly on both ministries’ websites, subject to personal data protection. A transitional plan provides for improvements to infrastructure, staffing, and logistics, and for gradual coverage: 1,000 schools in 2025, 1,500 in 2026, 2,000 in 2027, 3,000 in 2028, and 3,107 in 2029, prioritized by vulnerability and location. The Executive Branch would issue regulations under the law within 60 days of its promulgation; the bill would repeal Law 35 of 1995, Law 115 of 2019, and conflicting provisions, and would take effect the day after promulgation. Its subject matter concerns education and health authorities, students and families, school staff, agricultural food producers, and food service providers.