Nairobi school feeding program kitchens 90% complete

Nairobi County's “Dishi na County” school feeding programme is gaining momentum.

In a statement by the Office of the Governor, 10 central kitchens for School Feeding Program are approaching completion.

"Construction of the 10 central kitchens are in the final stages with most of them over 90 percent complete," reads the statement released on Sunday.

The 10 kitchens are located in Dagoretti North, Embakasi Central, Embakasi South, Kasarani, Kibra, Makadara, Starehe, Roysambu, Ruaraka, and Westlands sub-counties.

They are being constructed in Baba Dogo Primary School, Bidii Primary School, Kwa Njenga Primary, Farasi Lane Primary, Muthangari Primary, Kayole One Primary, Njiru Primary, Toi Primary, Roysambu Primary and Racecourse Primary.

The modern state-of-art Industrial Area mega kitchen will provide at least 60,000 plates per day to back-up schools that might run shortage of meals.

The construction phase has seen over 200 people employed,  including women and people leaving with disability.

As the construction of 10 central kitchens is in the final stages, the contractors will hand them over to the county next week.

During the launch in June, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said “10 kitchens in 10 weeks”, with the first meal set to be served on the first day of the third term this month.

According to Sakaja, it will cost Sh5 for school children in public schools and ECDEs within Nairobi to get free meals in the next financial year 2023-24.

This will cushion parents, keep children in schools, increase enrolment and transition to higher learning institutions in public primary schools and ECDs across 17 sub-counties in Nairobi.

Sakaja said the project is part of a vision he had for years.

This, he said will ensure the provision of a daily nutritionally balanced hot meal for all children in public primary schools and public Early Childhood Development centres.

In his first budget for Financial Year 2023-2024, Sh1.2 billion was allocated towards the feeding program.

Sh 500 million was also allocated to build seven more kitchens and the rest to subsidise the cost of a plate for each child.

Last month, Governor Sakaja signed an Intergovernmental Partnership Agreement with the National government on the implementation of a school meal plan in Nairobi.

The Sh1.7 billion agreement sets forth the terms of understanding between the parties in the implementation of the school meals programme in public primary schools in Nairobi.

The signing was between the governor and Education CS Ezekiel Machogu and was witnessed by Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung’u 

The agreement took effect as of July 17, for three years.