Food4Education, a school feeding organization in Kenya, has left King Letitsi III of the Kingdom of Lesotho and Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank Group.
King Letty Ay III and Adesina visit Ruil Elementary School, on the outskirts of the capital Nairobi, and an idea that began in 2012 to feed only 25 students delivers nutritious meals to half a million children every day. To date, Food4Education has delivered meals to over 100 million people to schools in 10 counties in Kenya.
Currently, only 30% of children in sub-Saharan Africa benefit from school feeding programs, highlighting the urgent need for action and investment.
Food4Education: School Feeding Blueprints
Food4Education is the brainchild of Wawira Njiru, who set up a nonprofit organization at the age of 21 to make a difference in the community.
After touring the school’s cooking facilities, King and the president of the Bank Group wore an apron and head covering on time to serve the students a lunch portion of freshly prepared rice, beans and fruit. King Lettisy III and Adesina also enjoyed their meal.
Kingletie Ay III and Adesina heard how the programme is crucial to increasing school attendance, improving educational outcomes, creating jobs and stimulating the local economy.
Njiru also improved attendance rates as Ruiru Elementary School alone have more than doubled the number of enrollments from 600 to 1,500, and “students actually come to school and look forward to lunch.”
Schools offered by Food4Education across Kiambu County have increased by 36.5% and 22.3% in the capital Nairobi.
“Ending school-age hunger is not a distant dream. It is within our reach,” said King Letty’s majesty. “It’s time for bold action and greater investment. We must move with urgency and unwavering commitment to turn our vision into reality.”
Bank group president Adesina should not say that she should not see parents crying helplessly for food shortages, about the responsibility of African government and corporate leaders to invest more in nutrition and education.
“The issues with malnutrition and stunting are not social issues. It’s a matter of leadership. It’s a matter of accountability. There’s 65% of the uncrowded land left to feed the world in Africa, but do you have children who have hungry?” Posted Adesina, accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Grace Yemisi Adesina.
The next destination for Wang and Adesina was in Food4Education’s warehouse and lab, where food samples were being tested for quality. They directly observed automated sorting and climate-smart storage of beans, rice and other essential cereals.
Food is strictly inspected.
Staff packages categorized grains and grains.
Our journey was transformative – there was no roadmap or well-traveled path. Njiru said: “Through a hands-on approach, we have built a blueprint that not only improves last mile solutions, but also encourages systematic change by creating jobs and opportunities within the communities we serve, while improving education and nutrition.”
This tour ended with Giga Kitchen, Africa’s largest green kitchen. Here, 60,000 fresh and nutritious meals are prepared daily using fires from charcoal briquettes made with recyclable materials and clean steam cooking techniques.
Food4Education’s ambition is to raise 1 million children every day in Kenya by 2027, and to expand its impact to another 2 million in two African countries by 2030.
Food4Education uses innovative technologies such as the TAP2EAT wristband to operate at large efficiency, allowing parents to pay digitally, while providing accurate operational data that prevents food waste and keeps them affordable for their parents. Every aspect is carefully designed to be a solution that can be replicated and expanded across the continent.
“Treating child malnutrition is a challenge that can be addressed through innovation,” Njiru said. “Hungers are sacrificing Africa and the world more than we know. The hangers take away the dignity of their children and engulf them in their potential while emitting up to 16.5% of Africa’s annual GDP.”
As African leaders of the African Union Nutrition Award Champion and Nutrition Champion Bank, Kingletie III and Adesina reaffirmed their commitment to promoting political will and mobilizing investments for Africa’s school-fed economy.
“Let’s come here and unite for purpose and realize that sustainable school feeding programs are not just interventions. They are commitments to human capital development, economic resilience, and food security.”
“It’s time to see nutrition investments not as expenditure items, but as a key investment in gray matter infrastructure. The development of human capital, especially through nutrition and education, is driving the economy into the future,” said Adesina, president of the Banking Group.
Other things with Adesina were Vice President of Agriculture, Human Social Development for the Banking Group, Director Kennedy Mbekiani, East Africa Region, and Senior Advisor to President Victor Oladokun, PhD Communications and Stakeholder Engagement.
