There is nothing more painful than witnessing a child attend an entire day of school on an empty stomach. Hunger doesn’t only eat away at our bodies, it diverts attention, kills curiosity and silences possibilities. For many children in Kenya, the empty plate has been the initial learning barrier.
Recent Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) statistics indicate that the number of severely food-insecure people increased from 7.1 million to 15.5 million in 2024. The data also reveals that one in every 10 Kenyan children is underweight.
When households struggle, it is children who feel the impact most deeply, and that is why the Model County School Feeding Policy, developed by the Council of Governors with the support of Food4Education (F4E), is crucial to securing the present and future generations.
The policy provides a coherent and uniform direction to counties on how to establish school meal programs that are rights-based, homegrown, sustainable, and embedded with accountability.
It builds on a decade of lived lessons that a hot, nutritious meal can raise school attendance by 10 percent, boost enrollment in schools by 20 percent, and give children who were falling behind a fair chance to learn again.
It’s about the little boy in Embu who stays in school, because porridge is waiting for him, the little girl in Mombasa, who can engage in lessons and learning, because she knows lunch is waiting for her and the farmer in Makueni whose green grams are now part of a nationwide feeding programme.
Across the counties working with F4E, the change is already tangible in classrooms, kitchens, and even farms. In Mombasa, teachers say the classrooms feel fuller, the energy livelier, and the silence of absentee desks is fading away. Behind those meals are local farmers whose harvests are now part of the daily rhythm of feeding children.
In Murang’a, mornings begin with the scent of fortified porridge wafting through Early Childhood Centres, drawing in little learners who might otherwise have stayed home. A new hot lunch pilot is adding not just nutrition but also joy to the day, with pupils staying longer, sharper, and more eager to learn.
In Embu, families look ahead with relief, knowing that by the year’s end, more than 23,000 of their youngest children will be guaranteed a daily meal at school. And in Nairobi, as Dishi na County marked its second anniversary on August 28, each meal served to over 300,000 children became a daily affirmation that their education, well-being, and future truly matter.
The gains are visible: improved attendance, more engaged learners, and a reliable market for local farmers and suppliers. What began as a bold county commitment has now become proof that institutionalised school feeding is possible, sustainable, and transformative.
Its success offers a blueprint for other counties, showing that when school meals are prioritised, children thrive in classrooms, parents gain confidence in the education system, and local farmers benefit from a reliable market.
From the coast to the highlands to the capital, these counties are showing that school meals are not a luxury but a cornerstone of governance. Each bowl served is not just food, it is attendance gained, curiosity rekindled, and communities strengthened.
As we look ahead, the path is clear. Counties must take the bold step of legislating, budgeting, and embedding school feeding into the heart of devolved services.
Partners must help build scalable, tech-driven systems that guarantee every meal reaches every child. And together, as Kenyans, we must make a national commitment: that never again will a child sit in class too hungry to learn.
A full stomach should be the foundation on which every dream in every classroom is built.
The writer is the CEO of Food for Education.
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