Bolivia: Law No. 622 on School Feeding within the Framework of Food Sovereignty and the Plural Economy

National law regulating Complementary School Feeding in Bolivia and distributing responsibilities for its provision, management, monitoring and oversight among the central government, autonomous departmental governments, autonomous municipal governments and Indigenous Peasant Autonomous Entities. The law seeks to progressively guarantee healthy, nutritious, safe and culturally appropriate school meals throughout the school year, contributing to improved nutrition, educational performance and school attendance among students. At the same time, it uses public food procurement as an instrument to strengthen the social and community economy and local food production, prioritizing small rural producers, Peasant and Indigenous Economic Organizations (OECAS), Community Economic Organizations (OECOM), and producer families organized under sustainable family farming. The law authorizes direct procurement mechanisms for local suppliers in certain municipalities, prioritizes nationally produced foods and raw materials, prohibits the procurement of genetically modified foods for school feeding and establishes responsibilities regarding nutritional standards, food safety, nutrition education, information systems, monitoring, technical support and infrastructure for food storage, preparation and distribution.