Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has said the county is putting in place necessary governance structures to properly manage the ‘Dishi na County’ school feeding programme.
Governor Sakaja said this will also allow Kenyans of goodwill to contribute towards the sustainability of the initiative.
According to Sakaja, there are many parents and Kenyans willing to donate towards the children’s meals in schools.
“Nairobians are now asking how they can pay by M-Pesa to support one child or five children,” he said.
Sakaja was speaking during the Global School Meals Coalition ministerial meeting in Nairobi on Tuesday.
The county boss said they are planning to establish a board and a secretariat to ensure it operates efficiently and effectively.
He said the programme launched 14 months ago, has had great impact on the school-going children in the city with a 34 per cent enrollment being witnessed.
Its impact measurement is being undertaken by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, he said.
The two institutions are carrying out a three-year study on it.
Sakaja at the same time announced that the initiative has reached the milestone of 30 million meals served within 14 months of its launch.
This programme has provided nourishment to over 310,000 students across 230 public schools in 17 subcounties of the city.
He also highlighted the programme’s transformative impact, particularly for students in informal settlements.
“Dishi Na County’ aims to reach even more schools and has already provided over 30 million meals at an affordable cost of just five shillings,” Sakaja noted.
He added that no child is ever denied a meal due to inability to pay, thanks to support from partners and the national government.
Beyond nourishing students, the initiative has also provided economic opportunities for local farmers and vendors supplying the program with food.
“Thousands of Kenyans now earn a living because of ‘Dishi Na County.’ We buy produce from our farmers across the country and have employed thousands to make this program work,” Sakaja stated.
President William Ruto who was present commended the county highlighting the importance of school feeding programmes in Kenya’s education strategy.
“I am very proud of what Nairobi County is doing in feeding our learners. Food for Education has done a remarkable job to provide for them,” Ruto said,
The President underscored the initiative’s role in fostering a conducive learning environment for students.
The Head of State also lauded Food For Education Founder and Executive Director, Wawira Njiru’s contribution to school feeding in the country.
“We have wonderful people, amazing people like Wawira…she is an amazing human being. She has provided the infrastructure for Nairobi County and others to serve hot meals to children, not in the City of Nairobi alone, but in many parts of Kenya. Congratulations!”
Reflecting on President Ruto’s comments, Njiru reiterated F4E’s simple mission: “I thank the President for recognising our efforts rooted in our vision to feed one million pupils in Kenya by 2027. This aligns with the National School Meals Coalition’s commitment to expand school meal programs from 2.6 million to over 10 million beneficiaries by 2030.”
F4E has touched hundreds of thousands of lives since 2012, delivering hot, nutritious meals that empower students to learn and thrive.
Today, it serves over 450, 000 meals each day across 1,263 schools leveraging innovative technology to make a difference for children in Kenya, inspired by a pan-African vision of reaching 3 million children by 2030 with the nutrition they need to learn, grow and succeed.
