Mercer: School Meal Programs Directly Drive Female Education in Developing Nations
Shelton Mercer · 60 Days Down to 60 Minutes Changed How Shelton Thinks About His Own Team · Jun 23, 2026 · at 34:41
Shelton Mercer, former interim COO of Rise Against Hunger, explains how direct food assistance acts as an effective lever for increasing female school attendance.
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“Well, if we realize that in local communities all over the world, and developing nations, if we said to parents, your daughters are going to eat today, something as very similar, simple as that, they would send their daughters to school with the boys Just so they could get a meal, and then you see that very simple, ah, solving that very simple issue of hunger. Allowed us to create literacy and opportunity to so many of these young girls”
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