
Food assistance programs (FAPs) play a crucial role in addressing food insecurity, poverty, and malnutrition worldwide. In China, a combination of agricultural reforms, targeted school meal programs, and social safety nets has helped eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, holding valuable lessons for other countries.
However, new challenges such as the “double burden” of malnutrition require more targeted food assistance policies focused on both nutrition and sustainability.
This policy brief examines the evolution and impact of China’s FAPs and the lessons they offer for global initiatives such as the G20 Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty or the food systems transformation agenda.
Authors: Fan Shenggen, Ding Xinyue and Wang Jingjing (Academy of Global Food Economics and Policy, AGFEP)