Feeding one child daily is tough for many in Kenya, however for Wawira Njiru, it sparked a nationwide school meals revolution.
What started as a small initiative cooking meals for 25 children from a makeshift kitchen has grown into Food4Education, one of Africa’s most ambitious and impactful school feeding programs. Today, the nonprofit provides over 500,000 nutritious lunches every day, tackling hunger, boosting school attendance, and proving the power of women-led innovation.
“Our vision is simple but powerful,” says Wawira Njiru. “A continent where no child has to choose between hunger and education. When we feed a child, we nourish a future.”
Wawira launched Food4Education in 2012 while still a university student in Australia. Fueled by the belief that no child should be forced to learn on an empty stomach, she returned home and began piloting affordable, nutritious school lunches in underserved Kenyan communities.
What started as a grassroots effort is now integrated into the national conversation on food security, education, and social equity.Backed by a data-driven model and the support of both government and private sector partners, Food4Education is now laying the groundwork for scaling to one million children daily by 2027, with eyes on expanding across Africa by 2030.
The initiative is supported by The Audacious Project, TED’s global funding platform for high-impact social innovation.
Food4Education’s success is rooted in a distinctly African model built on community collaboration, technology, and sustainability.
At the heart of the initiative are centralized mega-kitchens,large, high-efficiency facilities that prepare tens of thousands of meals daily under strict hygiene, quality, and nutritional standards.
To make the meals affordable and inclusive, parents contribute as little as Ksh 30 (about USD 0.20) per meal using mobile payment platforms like M-Pesa.
The remaining cost is subsidized by philanthropic donors and government support, making the program scalable and financially sustainable.
Additionally, Food4Education sources ingredients from smallholder farmers and local suppliers, creating economic ripple effects and strengthening regional food systems.
Each meal is carefully prepared by nutritionists to meet the dietary needs of school-age children, ensuring they receive the nutrients necessary for both academic and physical development.
Led by a young African woman, Food4Education is not just solving hunger,it’s reimagining how public services can work for the most vulnerable.
In many of the communities served, girls are disproportionately affected by food insecurity, with hunger often contributing to poor academic outcomes, absenteeism, and early school dropout.
Access to daily school meals dramatically improves girls’ chances of staying in school and achieving their potential.
By centering nutrition and education through a gender lens, Njiru’s work is proving that investing in school feeding is also an investment in women’s empowerment, economic justice, and intergenerational transformation.
The ripple effects of Food4Education are already crossing borders. The model is being replicated in Ghana and South Africa as part of broader efforts to localize school feeding in African contexts.
With African governments facing budget constraints, women-led innovations like Njiru’s offer scalable, community-rooted solutions to hunger, education inequality, and youth development.
