Feed School Children in Kenya

Although our 'Feeding Minds' programme was launched nearly 5 years ago, in September 2013, it is only since May 2015 that we have served a daily meal to each-and-every pupil across our partner schools. This month, then, marks three years of that stage of the programme and of ensuring that no pupil is excluded from learning or from school for want of a meal at lunchtime. 

In total we have now provided more than 1.75 million meals over the life of the programme and we currently provide food for almost 60,000 meals every month, although due to a recent restructure of the pre-school system by the Kenyan government, including an increase in the minimum school-going age, the programme is benefiting slightly fewer pupils now (2,500) than at the end of last year (2,750).

After a challenging 2017, it has been a relief that food prices have remained stable over the course of 2018 so far and, although they are yet to fall back to ‘pre-drought’ levels, we are at least able to make reliable projections of what the programme will cost from one month to the next, something which was near impossible last year!

Based on current food prices we estimate that the programme will cost approximately £26,400 to deliver for the remaining two terms of 2018 (115 school days in total) at an average cost of about £230 per day, £10 per pupil and just 9 pence per meal!

However we are hopeful that, as Kenya experiences its first consistent and prolonged rainy season for a number of years, the prices of domestically grown foodstuffs that make up our lunch menu will fall over the course of the rest of the year.