NAIROBI — For thousands of Kenyan pupils, a warm plate of rice and beans isn't just lunch; it's a reason to stay in school.
In low-income areas where families struggle to afford daily meals, Food for Education has turned the simple act of feeding children into a lifeline that keeps them learning.
But beyond filling classrooms, the organization is also cooking up a new recipe for sustainability, one that it says proves nutritious meals and environmental protection can thrive on the same plate.
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Every day, the social enterprise prepares over 600,000 meals for pupils in public primary schools across 13 counties, relying on eco-friendly energy, local sourcing, and rigorous food safety systems.
Beyond feeding children, the initiative is cutting carbon, creating jobs, and redefining sustainability in Kenya's food system.
"For sustainability we cannot rely on donor funding. That's why we are calling out for government partnership and allocation of budgets for school feeding," said Nelly Gitau of Food for Education.
From Sawdust to Steam: Energy Kitchen the Clean
The organization's flagship facility, the Giga Kitchen in Kibera, produces 60,000 meals a day for 78 schools across Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado, and Kiambu counties.
Instead of charcoal or LPG, the kitchen uses eco-briquettes, made by compressing sawdust and organic waste to generate clean steam.
The method is both climate-friendly and efficient.
"The briquettes are an eco-friendly source of energy made up of compressed saw dust and other forms of organic refuse. They don't have any dangerous emissions to the environment, so we are also able to protect the environment and the climate in that sense," said Caroline Kinuthia, the Giga Kitchen Manager.
Each day, the kitchen burns two tonnes of these briquettes reducing carbon emissions and cutting cooking times in half. Beans that took four hours to cook are now ready in two.
This approach lowers energy costs and reduces the organization's carbon footprint.
It's a model of what climate-smart cooking looks like at scale one that could inspire similar transitions across institutional kitchens in Kenya.
Circular Economy in Action
From its fuel to its food, Food for Education has embedded circular economic principles across its supply chain.
The organization recycles water, minimizes waste, and partners with the jua kali sector to fabricate stainless-steel food transport containers, creating jobs and reducing plastic waste.
Its kitchens source vegetables through aggregators who buy directly from 5,000 smallholder farmers, strengthening local economies, cutting transport emissions, and ensuring farmers have a steady income.
"Our process starts with sourcing. We have a central warehouse in Buru where we source all our cereals from. For this kitchen we consume up to 5 tonnes of rice and 3 to 4 tonnes of cereals in a day, alongside 7 tonnes of vegetables," said Kinuthia.
All products, from cabbages and beans to cooking oil and salt are locally sourced, except for rice, which Kenya still imports.
Before delivery, suppliers receive strict specifications to maintain consistent quality and safety.
Science Behind Safety
At the Food for Education laboratory in Ruiru, quality assurance meets sustainability.
Here, scientists test 8,000 bags of cereals per term for moisture content and aflatoxin levels, ensuring food safety before production.
"We test for moisture for pre-production and micro-toxins. We do intermediate quality check for microorganisms from the water and food itself in the kitchen including the cooking vessels. We analyze all that equipment through a sampling plan that runs three cycles," said Dan Makwata, a lab associate at Food for Education.
By embedding testing in the production cycle, the organization prevents food waste, safeguards children's health, and reinforces trust in locally sourced produce.
Partnerships for Sustainable Growth
Today, Food for Education operates 8 centralized kitchens, 68 semi-centralized, and 77 decentralized facilities across Kenya.
Twenty-one of these have been co-financed with county governments; a model that blends social impact with public accountability.
"In counties where we are in partnership with government, the parental contribution is much less. So, we are looking at the sustainability aspect," Gitau added.
In counties such as Nairobi, Mombasa, Murang'a, and Embu, the meals are subsidized, making them accessible to low-income families.
Since its inception, the program has served over 150 million meals, transforming school nutrition while building local supply chains that support farmers, cooks, drivers, and artisans.
"We obviously have plans to expand to more county governments in our plans to feed more kids," Gitau affirmed.
Beyond the Plate: Feeding the Planet Too
Every plate served represents more than nutrition, it's a small act of climate resilience.
The organization's kitchens consume three tonnes of grains daily and produce no smoke or soot thanks to their clean energy system.
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The program's footprint extends from the farms that grow their vegetables to the eco-briquettes that power its stoves, showing that even mass meal production can be sustainable.
By 2025, Food for Education had served over 150 million meals across 13 counties, operating 173 kitchens, including 28 centralized, 68 semi-centralized, and 77 decentralized facilities while supporting 5,000 smallholder farmers, using two tonnes of eco-briquettes daily, and testing 8,000 cereal bags per term to uphold safety standards.
Twenty-one of its kitchens have been built in partnership with county governments, symbolizing how collaboration can make sustainability both scalable and inclusive.
The organization charges a maximum of Sh15 daily for each child which is paid by parents under its 'tap to eat' technology.
Under the program, each child enrolled in the program receives a smart wristband linked to a digital wallet that parents can easily top up through M-Pesa.
During lunchtime, pupils simply tap their wristbands on an electronic device to "pay" for their meals, with the system instantly deducting the cost and recording the transaction in real time.
This ensures that every child receives a nutritious meal without the need for cash handling, reducing risks of misuse and promoting transparency.
