| By Mark Palmer BBC News |
Whether it's west Africa or Wales, food can go from the farm gate to the school gate, according to Francisco Espejo.
He heads the World Food Programme's school feeding service, responsible for satisfying the hunger of 20m children across the globe each day.
He was at Cardiff University to address a seminar at its School of City and Regional Planning.
It has been carrying out research into how small-scale local farmers can provide food for schools.
"We want to cut out the middleman and the profits that he makes and get schools working as close as possible with local farmers," said Mr Espejo.
"This is the best way for schools to get good quality food at a good price while the farmer in turn gets a good return.
"The work being done by Cardiff University is so important for the future of our children, whether it is here in Wales or in west Africa.
| We talk of children being our future and for them to be that, they need help today Francisco Espejo |
"Of course, you don't have children starving in Wales, but it is crucial that they - and children across the world - get good quality food.
"It is good for the local economy if as much of that food is sourced as locally as possible and it's also good for the environment, with food miles [the measure of the distance a food travels from field to plate] being cut," he added.
Dr Roberta Sonnino of Cardiff University, who has carried out a major research project in Scotland with East Ayrshire Council, told delegates that the 12 primary schools the council had been working with were now providing better quality meals.
Radical menus
They were also putting £160,000 a year into the local economy and drastically cutting food miles by two-thirds.
Robin Gourlay, from East Ayrshire Council, said it was possible to provide quality meals for 72p per head [a cost which was just for the food and did not include overheads].
"It's been a great challenge with radical menus and recipes," said Mr Gourlay.
"We've needed to give our staff some extra training, but they have risen to that challenge".
Mr Espejo told the conference that in parts of Africa the World Food Programme could provide "a very basic" lunchtime meal of about 700 calories for just under 5p per child.
But he said that much of that food was being imported and it was time for local producers to benefit by bridging that gap.
He said good work was being done in Ghana and Nigeria but more effort was needed because "we talk of children being our future and for them to be that, they need help today".
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