School meals programme in The Gambia is one of the successful safety net programmes that have been beneficial to vulnerable families in rural dwellings and some families dwelling in urban slums. The programme has evolved over the years necessitating a study to assess its efficacy thereby validating the need for its continuation in the coming decades and beyond. The study was conducted nationwide, thus providing useful insight on the current school meals programme. The monetary benefits of the programme were estimated using reasonable assumptions whilst its actual costs were also calculated. The model used for the study was the Investment Case Economic Model of the Boston Consulting Group. The benefits were categorized into: income transfer, healthier and longer life, educational outcome (enrolment, attendance & dropout) and externalities. Whilst costs were categorized into: food cost, staff cost, transport & logistics, capital cost, running cost and other costs. The study generated six options with various assumptions, the results from the various assumptions illustrated that the Benefit-Cost ratio ranges from 6.1524 to 6.1543 given the options. For the base year the Benefit-Cost ratio was 6.19:1. The net present values ranges between GMD 228,967,046.83 (USD 5,724,176.17) and GMD 648,232,828.48 (USD 16,205,820.71) over the study period. Empirically the results of the study vividly demonstrates that school meals programme is a viable and worthwhile investment. Hence the need for its sustainability and continuance so that learners from poor and vulnerable families will continue to benefit from this social safety net programme. There is however a need for public accountability and proper record keeping in order to ensure that further and future studies on the programme is possible and credible.
