School food plan wins global innovation award as it scales up its reach

“As we enter a new phase of what has been a tremendously fundamental and fulfilling journey of impact, we are immensely honoured to be recognised for creating and scaling a uniquely African solution to a global challenge – feeding nutritious, affordable meals to public school children every day,” said Ms Njiru.

“We are driven by an insatiable ambition to ensure no child has to learn on a hungry stomach and we thank our donors, partners, and parents for sharing in our vision. Collectively, these awards are a vote of confidence in our locally rooted, scalable, and replicable school-feeding blueprint and business model."

The surge in F4E’s delivery comes as more African nations recognise the potential value of the $156 billion (Sh20.2 trillion) school feeding economy. Yet, every day, millions of children arrive at school to face the sobering reality of classroom hunger.

There are over 400 million children in Africa, yet approximately 90 per cent lack a minimally appropriate diet and more than 50 per cent don’t eat at recommended frequencies.

In Kenya alone, 60 per cent of children do not receive adequate nutrition. Globally, school feeding programmes are a proven and effective solution to classroom hunger but in Africa, existing programs are typically dependent on foreign agencies that rely on bulk and processed foods and offer limited consideration of local context, communities, or supply chains.