It’s something I know from my own young children—but the lesson was underscored while working on a project this summer.

This past July, I was part of a team from National Geographic that traveled to Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Our assignment brought us to the northern region of Jinotega, which produces 65 percent of the country’s coffee. It is a verdant mountain landscape where locals boast that nearly anything grows. And yet many struggle to put food on the table.

As a photojournalist, I often focus on challenging issues and problems. This time, however, I was there as part a team documenting a solution: a school meals program run by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)