Access to Food vs. Education - Feeding the Stomach is Important for Feeding the Mind

Abstract A school feeding program (SFP) influences school attendance and performance because better nutrition by default implies better physical and mental performance. SFP is an important motivation to attend school, especially in an area of extreme poverty and food insecurity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of SFP on school attendance of students in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria, based on data from a cross-sectional comparative study of 780 aged between 6 and 13 year old selected primary schools in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria, conducted between November 2020 and February 2021 in selected primary schools in the North-Eastern region of Nigeria. We used different matching techniques and an endogenous switching regression approach to analyze the average treatment effect (ATT). The results show that the school feeding program has consistently positive and statistically significant effects on school attendance in all three models. The positive effect of SFP is stronger for students from larger households and for those living in remote areas. The direction and magnitude of the estimated impacts are consistent across specifications. In order to increase school attendance, the government should expand SFP coverage throughout the country, with priority given to conflict areas.