The school feeding initiative has come into play thanks to the brilliant mind and the fearless visionary behind the Food for Education (Food4Education).
At 21 years old, Wawira Njiru embarked on a journey that has now blossomed into a renowned and impactful organisation.
With a passion for making a difference and a determination to challenge the status quo, Njiru pushed the boundaries and paved the way for change.
Njiru moved from feeding 25 children in a mabati kitchen to a 60,000-plate kitchen and feeding more than 350,000 children in five counties.
With a background in nutrition from the University of South Australia, Njiru is changing the lives of children in Kenya by creating an enabling environment for them to study.
“I wanted to do something to give back to help the community and make an impact in education because my parents had been sponsored through school,” she said.
“They grew up poor and with that, I thought of doing something that can help other children get opportunities.”
With the help of her parents, Njiru located schools that needed help, where children could go hungry and others could pass out in class due to hunger.
The CEO said that while studying in Australia, she raised the money through friends, wired the funds home and the institution took shape.
“From a small fundraiser, I cooked for about 80 people. I cooked for them Kenyan foods that ended up raising money to build kitchens in the country,” she said.
“By having three meals a day, I was well off compared to others; I had that keen awareness of parents struggling to put food on the table. I grew up knowing that if you do not have food, it can mess up your life,” she said.
Njiru can be described as a selfless person who gave to those who lacked wholeheartedly.
She recounted a childhood incident that she holds dear to her heart.
“My mother used to freeze food and this one time when I was playing with my friends, I realised they had nowhere to go and eat. You could find them where you left them after going for lunch,” she said.
“One day, I brought them the frozen githeri from the fridge and as a child, if I think about it now, I was just trying to respond to something so obvious.”
Njiru said hunger is an indignity to people as one can't do anything or concentrate, adding that there are no two ways about that.
She said she has been inspired by the journey she undertook, the growth and lessons learnt throughout the process.
“In the next three to five years, we are hoping to feed 1 million children a day, and we are looking at how we shall build that out and ensure that more children are being fed and we get more kitchens,” she said.
Njiru said the institution is seeking to bring on board other African countries interested in the school feeding programme.
She said the programme is growing and they have currently expanded to rural areas, including Uasin Gishu, Nyeri and Murang’a.
Food for Education has kitchens in Kiambu, Kisumu and Mombasa.
She said that as a 21-year-old starting up the initiative, she got dismissed seemingly because she was young.
However, that did not deter her from striving to achieve her goals. She was determined.
“That is a big challenge that young people need to overcome because it is hard to bring out something new when you cannot share your ideas,” she said.
Njiru said young people can only overcome such challenges when they have supportive family and friends.
“I used to go to places to pitch my ideas. Some people listened while others would turn me away. I took that as a challenge, went and did what they asked and got back with the results. That is how I succeeded.”
“People will throw that to you as a way of dismissing you, like there is no way you can go and do it. I think young people are smart and getting all the support they need is really important.”
She said school meals not only reduce hunger and improve health but also have a long-term impact by boosting countries' productivity.
This year, Food for Education received the 2024 Skoll Foundation Award for Social Innovation and was named on TIME 100's list of most influential companies.
