Ten new kitchens, currently under construction, will provide 400,000 lunches daily for children at 225 primary schools and childcare facilities in Nairobi. This $8.6 million initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Nairobi government and Food4Education, a Kenyan non-profit organization that has already provided meals to 150,000 primary school students in the capital.

Kenyan President William Ruto speaks with students at the launch of a school meal program in Nairobi. Photo: The Star

According to Save the Children, 26% of children in Kenya are stunted due to malnutrition. The lack of food among students has significantly impacted their academic performance. At the launch of the school meal program, Kenyan President William Ruto stated: “We will carefully consider and focus on ensuring the successful implementation of the school meal program. It is sad that children have to go to school hungry because of food shortages.” Mr. Ruto noted that the government has also allocated 5 billion Kenyan shillings (US$36 million) to expand the national food program. This decision allows the number of children receiving food through the program to increase from 1.6 million to 4 million.

Nutrition expert Wawira Njiru, founder of Food4Education, said that through the organization's partnership with the Nairobi city government, the number of children served lunch each day will increase to 400,000. Furthermore, with the participation of more partners, this number is expected to increase to 500,000 by the end of 2024. Food4Education was founded in 2012 from a makeshift kitchen, where a cook was hired to prepare lunch for 25 children at Ruiru Elementary School. According to Njiru, she decided to provide nutritious lunches for students from impoverished rural households and informal settlements after witnessing poverty and inequality among her classmates in the town of Ruiru, on the outskirts of Nairobi.

DUONG NGUYEN