Wawira Njiru says school feeding is essential for strengthening human capital and developing the future workforce.
Wawira Njiru, Founder and CEO of Food for Education, is on a mission to feed millions of schoolchildren across Africa. Currently, her organization provides 450,000 meals daily to over 1,200 schools across Kenya. Ahead of World Food Day on 16 October, the award-winning Ms. Njiru spoke with Kingsley Ighobor about her ambitions, the importance of nutritious meals for children, the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity, and more. Below are excerpts from the interview.
Tell us a bit more about what you do and what motivates you.
I'm the founder and CEO of Food for Education (F4E). I started the organization because of the simple belief that hungry children can't learn. The reality is that one in four people in the world will be African by 2050, and many of them, right now, are children. We have about 400 million children on the continent, and most of them do not get a minimally acceptable diet. You can't do anything when you're hungry.
What we do is streamline the entire process of providing school lunches to around 450,000 children every single day in about 1,263 schools [in Kenya].
We've seen a huge impact in that the children are able to learn and stay in school. There has been increased enrollment and attendance, and we've seen kids being nourished and able to live up to their full potential.
How severe is malnutrition among children in Kenya?
It is very severe. On the continent, millions of children are malnourished. In Kenya specifically, one in four children is stunted because of malnutrition. Stunting means you're too short, your weight is not enough, and your IQ has not reached its full potential because you didn't get adequate nutrition when you were under the age of five. This creates a human capital limitation.
Does the situation in Kenya reflect other parts of the continent?
In some countries, yes, the situation in Kenya reflects that; but in many countries, it's better or worse.
We started in Kenya because I'm Kenyan. Our team is majority Kenyan. We began in the home and community where I grew up. But this is not just a Kenyan problem; it's a continent-wide problem, and we Africans need to be at the forefront of solving our own problems.
We've launched what we call an African strategy for school feeding, expanding and making sure it reaches other children across the continent. We will be scaling to other countries across Africa in the future.
Do you find people in other countries interested in learning from your experience so they can replicate it in their communities?
Yes, many people want to learn how to feed their communities in places like Nigeria, Zambia, and the DRC. We've learned a lot about both failing and succeeding--what works and what doesn't. Now we're looking at how to share that knowledge to help others build kitchens, source supplies, distribute food and more. Africans are known for giving back to their communities.
When I started Food for Education, I traveled to India to learn from an organization called Akshaya Patra Foundation, which has scaled its operations significantly. Not everyone can go to India, so we are happy to share our knowledge and experience.
How does Food for Education fit into efforts to tackle poverty in Kenya and on the continent as a whole?
Poverty is the inability to live to your full potential or to provide yourself with basic needs, such as food, shelter, water and clothing. Food and water are the most critical needs for humans. You can't afford food if you're living in poverty.
By providing nutritious meals in school, we're helping those living under the poverty line--those struggling to feed themselves and their families. If they send their child to school, that child will get a nutritious meal, be educated and potentially help the family out of poverty.
Where do you get the resources to feed 450,000 children a day?
We have a strategic alliance with parents, government and philanthropy, and we see those three contributors as critical. Parents have the biggest stake in their children's wellbeing because, of course, they want their kids to eat well.
We meet them where they're at by subsidizing the amount they contribute for their children to eat, with the subsidy provided by the government. We work with county governments across Kenya that give us resources to subsidize meals.
Then there's philanthropy. Some gaps can only be filled by philanthropic capital, such as when we're setting up kitchens or making technology investments. Philanthropy can catalyze school feeding programmes before the government and parents take over the daily operations.
You plan to feed one million children in Kenya by 2027. How is that going?
It's going well. Feeding a million kids in Kenya is one of our main focuses, alongside expanding to other African countries, where we aim to feed an additional two million children.
We started with just 25 children. So, it's not an overnight success. It's taken 12 years to get here, but now, with a stronger team, we see opportunities to accelerate our efforts and scale faster.
In your work, do you keep in mind SDG 2, which aims to achieve zero hunger by 2030?
Yes, SDG 2 aligns closely with the work we are doing. But when I started Food for Education 12 years ago, there were no SDGs. I was 21 years old, but I knew that achieving zero hunger was essential. Hunger is very limiting--when you're hungry, you're irritable, and you can't focus on anything.
What are some of the challenges you've faced so far?
It's taken 12 years to get to where we are now. Initially, we had to understand the nutritional composition of the meals we provide. I'm a nutritionist and food scientist by training, so it's important to me that kids get the right nutrition.
So, getting the menu right, contextualizing it and ensuring it served the kids and that they found it delicious were critical. Another challenge is that no matter how many kids we feed, there are always more in need. Scaling up fast enough to meet the need is an ongoing challenge. Our goal is to feed a million children every day. While we're feeding 450,000 now, the continent has 400 million children.
Resource mobilization, building partnerships, and assembling the right team are what we will need to do as we continue to grow and reach more children.
Seventy-five percent of your employees are women. Why is that?
Yes, 75 percent of our staff are women, and that has had a huge impact. In every place we operate, parents are involved, and many of them are employed to cook for their children.
In the beginning, we saw that more women than men were interested in working in the kitchens, but that's starting to change now.
How does climate change impact your work?
When I think about climate change, I think about its impact on communities across the continent. Rising temperatures, droughts, and floods are becoming more frequent, disrupting food production and driving up food prices.
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As a result, the food plate is getting smaller and less nutritious, with kids missing out on essential proteins and vegetables. The body doesn't stop needing nutrition just because the climate is changing.
Climate change is something we should all be concerned about. It tends to affect the poorest people the most, so we must help them adapt.
You've been speaking lately around the world about the need for nutritious food for school children. Are people receptive to your advocacy?
I had the opportunity to speak about our work at the UN General Assembly this year. I'll be at the World Bank in a few weeks for the fall meeting. We also won the award at Oxford, UK, earlier this year [Skoll Award for Social Innovation]. The reception has been very positive because people understand that children can't survive, let alone thrive, without food.
All the speaking engagements and platforms have allowed us to highlight the importance of school feeding in the broader conversation. If we're thinking about climate change, Africa's future, the future workforce, or human capital, school feeding is a key solution.
What message would you give young Africans, particularly women, who see you as a role model?
My message to young Africans is that there's so much potential within us. Our continent needs us. It needed us yesterday, it needs us today, and it will need us tomorrow.
We are the ones who can bring change to our communities. Don't think of yourself as small or incapable. There's no right age to start something. Whether you're young or older, you can start something and succeed.
I was 21 years old when I started. I was an international student, struggling to pay my school fees in Australia. But I started small, hoping it would grow one day--and it has.
