Food for Education has announced that its school feeding program will reach 350,000 as it epands it partnerships with Counties and other organizations.
Its school feeding program is now live in five counties i.e. Nairobi, Kiambu, Muranga, Mombasa, and Kisumu. In 2024, it aims to reach 350,000 children daily up from 165,000 children daily in 2023.
The organization currently operates 53 semi-centralized kitchens, 15 decentralized kitchens, and 18 centralized kitchens. 8 of the centralized kitchens were launched in Nairobi County through the Dishi na County program in Nairobi.
“Centralized kitchens, a cornerstone of this expansion, will play a pivotal role in scaling school feeding, enabling the provision of nutritious meals to more students efficiently than ever before,’’ said Wawira Njiru, Food for Education’s Founder and Executive Director.
The program is ran through Tap2Eat, a digital mobile platform utilizing FinTech. Parents make micro-payments for subsidized school lunches using mobile money. The payment is credited to a virtual wallet linked to an NFC-technology-enabled smart wristband, enabling students to tap to eat.
Since inception, Food for Education has served 31 million meals. This year, due to its expansion into the five counties, Food for Education aims to serve over 60 million meals.
The school feeding program contributes to local economies by creating nearly 3,000 jobs.
Dishi na County is a partnership between Nairobi City County, the Ministry of Education, and the Food For Education Foundation. The program, launched in 2023, provides a hot meal for all children in public primary schools and public Early Childhood Development (ECD) centers in Nairobi City County.