Food Aid and Promotion of Healthy Nutrition Program – DIATROFI

The Program on Food Aid and Promotion of Healthy Nutrition – DIATROFI has been implemented for eleven consecutive school years by Prolepsis Institute with Stavros Niarchos Foundation as the Founding Donor.

The DIATROFI Program supports students in primary and secondary public schools in socioeconomically vulnerable areas throughout Greece, contributing to the fight against food insecurity and obesity.

The Program provides a daily free healthy meal to all the students in the participating schools. Furthermore, the program promotes healthy nutrition through educational material and activities aimed at the students and their families.

Since 2012, over 18,7 million meals have been distributed to more than 198,580 students in 941 schools of the country. 

The results gathered so far indicate that in schools where the Program is implemented, food insecurity has decreased, the number of underweight, as well as overweight and obese children has decreased, and children’s eating habits have improved. Additionally, according to the teachers, the Program has contributed to a reduction in school dropouts and strengthening of social bonds in the school environment.

The schools that participate in the Program are selected based on strict socioeconomic criteria. For the school year 2023 – 2024 the Program was implemented in 170 schools with 6,764 students. However, more than 1,400 school applications have been submitted in the last school year, corresponding to approximately 124,000 students, indicating the urgent need to expand the Program to serve a greater number of schools in Greece.

The DIATROFI Program is implemented under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs.

The DIATROFI Program is implemented by a multidisciplinary team of Prolepsis Institute with contribution from professors in Greece and the United States, from such institutions as the Medical School of the University of Athens, Harvard University, and Stanford University. Also, a large number of volunteers assist in the implementation of the Program.

More information can be found in the website: www.diatrofi.prolepsis.gr