School Meals, Policy Protagonism, and the Politics of Care in the Americas

Abstract There is a growing concern over how to address social problems related to care, including children’s need for nourishing food. This article sheds light on care providers’ and care receivers’ roles as policy protagonists, who challenge governments to invest in school meals as care infrastructure. We discuss the gendered nature of school food politics in the Americas, building on Gaddis’s argument that “debates about school lunches are fundamentally about care.” We then provide an overview of who feeds whom, what, how, and why throughout the Americas before turning to a more detailed analysis of policy protagonism within the United States, Brazil, Peru, and Canada. We argue that policy protagonism is fundamental for achieving care-centered school food policies that hold governments accountable for meeting the collective needs of children, while supporting transitions within food systems that benefit communities and environments.