How school meal is transforming Kenya’s classrooms at scale

A daily hot meal is emerging as one of Kenya’s most effective tools for enhancing school attendance, improving learning readiness, and boosting household resilience.

It is 2 pm at Gachororo Comprehensive Primary School in Kiambu County, and Grade Five pupils have just filed back into class for the afternoon session. The room is filled to capacity.

According to Mwalimu Mary Arodi, the first term has seen a sharp rise in attendance, now hovering at nearly 99 per cent.

Class prefect Jayden Karanja quickly calls his classmates to order as the teacher settles in for a science lesson.

“Good afternoon, class?” Mwalimu Arodi begins, turning to the blackboard to write the date and subject.

“Good afternoon, teacher!” the learners respond in unison.

“Are you ready for the lesson?” she asks, glancing toward the prefect.

“Teacher, we are ready,” replies Kylana Njoroge, who typically sits at the back but has moved to the front row for this lesson.

As the class begins, the level of attentiveness is striking. Despite the sweltering heat outside, the pupils sit upright, eyes fixed on the teacher.

“Do you remember what we learnt yesterday?” Arodi asks.

A hand shoots up from the back. It is Brenda Kamau, one of the quietest students.

“Yes, teacher,” she says. “It was about soil erosion.”

“Clap for her, class,” the teacher responds, turning to write the answer on the board.

At Gatunyu Comprehensive School in Murang’a County, a similar scene is unfolding.

In a Grade Six classroom, Madam Josephine Njiru is mid-lesson. Since schools reopened, she says, the change has been unmistakable.

“This is one of my favourite classes,” she notes. “Since the introduction of the school feeding programme last year, my learners no longer doze in class.”

Whether in concentration or participation, she says, the improvement has been significant.

“The programme has enhanced cognitive development. Learners are more alert and actively engaged,” she explains.

She gestures toward the back of the classroom.

“That girl sitting at the far end used to fall asleep around this time. When we followed up, we realised she was coming to school hungry.”

Beyond attentiveness, the programme has also transformed the school environment.

“In the past, you would see dishes scattered across the compound because some pupils carried food from home—at least those who could afford it,” she says.

“Now, the compound is cleaner and more organised.”

Previously, many children brought leftovers that often spoiled in the heat.

“They would complain of stomach aches after eating cold or spoiled food. Today, they receive hot, nutritious meals from school. The difference is clear,” she adds.

Mary Wanyoike, a parent of a Grade Seven pupil, sums it up: “We no longer have to worry about providing lunch. Our children get it at school.”

“This has allowed me to focus on tending to my farm. I have also noticed that since the lunch programme began, my child is stronger and healthier,” she adds.

She notes that at times, her son even brings some food home to share with his sister, as the portions are sufficient.

“Now that we are only three in the household, there are days I do not need to prepare supper. Those savings are helping me meet other needs,” she says, adding that her son has risen to position three in a class of 60 since the start of the year.

Behind these classroom changes is a rapidly expanding national feeding system designed to deliver hot meals at scale every school day across multiple counties.

These learners are among more than 600,000 children receiving hot, nutritious meals daily in over 1,700 public primary schools across 13 counties, supported by Food4Education.

The non-governmental organisation has partnered with county governments to scale school feeding programmes nationwide, with an ambitious target of serving one million meals a day by next year.

This momentum was reinforced last year with the launch of Kenya’s first Model Pre-Primary School Feeding Policy for County Governments at the Devolution Conference.

Developed jointly by the Council of Governors and Food4Education, the policy provides a unified framework for all 47 counties to implement equitable, sustainable, and locally driven feeding programmes.

Drawing on over a decade of operational experience, Food4Education played a central role in shaping the policy—offering technical expertise, systems design, and implementation insights.

In Kakamega County, where the programme is active in at least 28 primary schools and feeds more than 14,000 children daily, the impact is equally evident.

Mwalimu Alex Makhoha says enrolment and attendance have significantly improved.

“Without school meals, you would not see 700 pupils present at this time of day,” he says.

“In 2022 and 2023, attendance was a major challenge. Today, the issue is no longer whether children are coming to school—it is whether we have enough capacity to accommodate them.”

At nearby Amalemba Primary School, pupils spill into the field after afternoon classes, energised and playful.

“They are not in a hurry to go home,” says Mwalimu Alice Otieno. “They have eaten well, and you can see the energy—they are running around, fully engaged.”

Explaining the system behind the programme, Food4Education Chief Executive Officer Wawira Njiru describes a highly coordinated supply chain.

“Food is regionally sourced based on seasonality, then prepared in 180 kitchens—ranging from those producing 1,000 meals to as many as 60,000 daily,” she explains.

“Distribution is done by trucks in urban areas and motorbikes in rural regions.”

Meals are served within a single one-hour window, during which hundreds of thousands of children eat simultaneously.

“We process up to one million Tap2Eat transactions within that hour,” she adds.

Participation remains high, with approximately 90 per cent of enrolled children receiving meals on any given day.

About 10 per cent are fully supported through philanthropic funding.

“The programme is subsidised,” Njiru notes.

“Meals cost between 15 and 20 shillings, compared to 50 to 100 shillings for typical school-run programmes. Affordability remains the primary barrier—but one we are actively working to overcome.”