By Wawira Njiru and Geoffrey Wandeto
As Kenya continues its journey towards universal education and sustainable development, one truth remains clear: a simple plate of food can mean the difference between a child thriving in the classroom or dropping out altogether. This plate is also more than just a meal – it has the power to transform not just the life of that child, but whole communities and local economies. Today, the African Union celebrates the African Day of School Feeding, a very important day to us.
In Tetu Constituency within Nyeri County, hundreds of children face adverse levels of poverty. Hunger undoubtedly persists. This is the case despite the county’s reputation as a national hub of agricultural activities and food security. Now, if children in Nyeri face hunger as a daily reality, what about more food insecure parts of our country?
Well, the national statistics paint a quite sobering picture. According to a recent survey, nearly one-third of children suffer from chronic malnutrition, with devastating consequences for their cognitive development and academic performance. Additionally, the WFP estimates that 1.6 million school-aged children in Kenya are food insecure. As a result, this leads to absenteeism and poor educational outcomes. These are not mere statistics—they represent real lives and threatened futures.
This is why we put our minds and resources together to ensure that learners in Tetu do not struggle to learn on empty stomachs. In this constituency, our partnership utilises 19 decentralized kitchens to implement a constituency-wide school feeding program. The results have been transformative: we have observed 98% school attendance, improved academic outcomes, and heightened parental involvement. Through a simple collaboration between our two institutions, children in this community now have access to hot and nutritious meals, enabling them to focus on their education. We have created nearly 100 jobs in these kitchens and employed boda boda riders to distribute the food. The school feeding program has also created a market for local vegetable vendors to supply it.
School feeding programs are more than a safety net: they are an investment in Kenya’s future. By purchasing produce from local farmers, these programs create demand for agricultural products, boosting rural economies. They also integrate women and smallholder farmers into supply chains, creating jobs and enhancing socioeconomic conditions. At Food4Education, nearly 80% of the 4,000 employees are women, and 70% of frontline staff are parents of the 500,000 children we serve each single day.
However, this is a smaller part of the national challenge that needs to be addressed to drive transformative change. Despite the small wins we have seen in Tetu and elsewhere, they remain isolated victories. Kenya urgently requires the institutionalisation of school meals. We believe that through a policy and legal framework mightily backed by sustainable public financing, it is possible. Without such structures, hunger shall persist as a barrier to education and opportunity for the millions of children who shall form our future society imminently.
Budgetary constraints are also often cited as a barrier to school feeding. However, school feeding programs offer immense benefits that far surpass their costs, with an impressive benefit-to-cost ratio ranging from $7 to $35 for every $1 invested. These initiatives provide multifaceted advantages that extend beyond a single sector, positively impacting noth just education, but health and economic development. The African Development Bank estimates that every $1 invested in childhood nutrition generates as much as $138 in better health and increased productivity. Globally, UNESCO’s reports that a yearly investment of $11 billion in school meals could generate an astounding $156 billion return through increased school attendance and improved educational outcomes. This is a staggering return on a very reasonable investment in our children, truly.
Kenya must continue allocating a meaningful portion of its education budget towards school feeding. However, we call for its increase from the current Ksh 3bn in the current and upcoming financial year if we want to achieve universal school feeding by 2030 which the government has committed to as a member of the Global School Meals Coalition. Beyond government, innovative funding mechanisms such as public-private partnerships or donor collaborations can also bridge gaps. A great example of this is the AfDB and CIFF’s End School-Age Hunger Fund, already funded to $100 million that shall provide critical support to African countries committed to universal school feeding through grants and loans.
Brazil and India have demonstrated how institutionalising school feeding programs can drive national development. India’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the world’s largest school meal initiative, reaches over 120 million children daily, reducing malnutrition while boosting attendance and retention. Similarly, Brazil’s National School Feeding Program is backed by dedicated legislation, ensuring consistent funding and high-quality meals, as well as empowering a crop of farmers and other businesses.
These programs share a common thread: they are institutionalized. This means that they are more protected from shifting political winds and financial volatility. Kenya, too must move towards setting up the foundational structures to guarantee that every school-going child can access a nutritious daily meal. From a legislative perspective, it is time to champion a School Feeding Act in Parliament to further guarantee Articles 43(c) and (f) of our Constitution. It must outline clear roles for each one of us—national and county governments, non-state actors, businesses, and local communities—in funding, enforcing, implementing, and monitoring the programs.
Institutionalizing school feeding programs is not just about feeding our children; it is about safeguarding Kenya’s future. It requires policy backing and ring-fenced financing to ensure sustainability and equity. By enacting these fundamental frameworks, we can lay the groundwork for a healthier, prosperous, and more equitable society.
A hungry child cannot learn. A nation that neglects its children’s basic needs cannot prosper. This is not just a social issue—it is a matter of national development and a moral imperative.
Wawira Njiru is the Founder and CEO of Food4Education. Geoffrey Wandeto is the MP for Tetu Constituency.
