School feeding initiatives, a game-changer for East Africa
April 16, 2025
School feeding programs are more than just meals on a plate. When designed well, they create jobs, strengthen local food systems, and support children’s health and education. Yet, despite their potential, investment remains alarmingly low across Africa.
The reality is stark: while governments, NGOs, and development partners have made strides, the scale of the challenge far outweighs current efforts. With school feeding at the intersection of nutrition, local economies, and food security, it is clear that no single organisation can solve this alone.
Wasafiri works with a broad network of partners to convene, coordinate, and unlock solutions that drive systemic change. But time is running out. If we want to make school meals a truly sustainable solution, the world needs to act – and invest – now.
Across East Africa, school meals are often the only reliable source of daily nutrition for millions of children. In Kenya, for example, nearly 4 million children benefit from school feeding programs. Yet these initiatives remain largely dependent on donor funding and food imports, failing to harness the full potential of local economies.
Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) presents an opportunity to shift this paradigm. By sourcing food from local smallholder farmers and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), school feeding programs can:
Despite these benefits, only a fraction of Africa’s school feeding programs are meaningfully linked to local food systems. A scoping review conducted by Wasafiri found that while 76% of school feeding initiatives claim to support small-scale farmers, only 43% have preferential contracting for them, and a mere 7% have legal frameworks to ensure their inclusion. In other words, the potential of HGSF remains largely untapped.
The question is not whether HGSF works; it does. The question is, why is Africa still struggling to make it the norm rather than the exception?
While school feeding should be a win-win for both children and local food producers, smallholder farmers and MSMEs face significant barriers to entry. Wasafiri is involved in CCHeFS, a project funded by IDRC aimed at integrating MSMEs and smallholder farmers into school feeding initiatives. Our research reveals some of their challenges:
Wasafiri, alongside its partners, is working to identify practical ways to integrate MSMEs and smallholder farmers into school feeding supply chains. We are exploring financing models, capacity-building programs, and policy shifts that could make HGSF scalable. However, the reality is that these efforts, while necessary, are just a drop in the ocean. What is needed is serious, long-term investment.
The need for financing in HGSF cannot be overstated. While national governments have made commitments, budget constraints mean that school feeding programs often remain underfunded and inconsistent.
Private-sector engagement is almost non-existent in many cases. Yet, major global players such as impact investors, philanthropic foundations, and large agribusinesses have the resources to fill this gap. Organisations such as the Rockefeller Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have invested heavily in food systems transformation. But school feeding has yet to receive the level of attention (and funding) it deserves.
We believe this must change. The case for investment is clear:
The question is: who will step up?
Wasafiri has spent years working to understand the complexities of school feeding in Africa. We have conducted research, convened stakeholders, and supported policy discussions. But we cannot do this alone.
If we are serious about transforming school meals into a tool for systemic change, we must move beyond pilots and fragmented projects. We need:
If you are a funder, policymaker, or organisation that cares about the future of school feeding, now is the time to engage. The solutions exist. The question is whether we have the will to implement them at scale.