Kenya’s ambition to provide nutritious, locally sourced meals to millions of learners through the National Home Grown School Meals Programme is both bold and necessary. With nearly three million children reached in 2025 and a target of ten million by 2030, the scale of this commitment is undeniable.
Yet beyond these national goals lies a more pressing challenge: how to effectively deliver these meals, especially in low-income urban settlements where need is greatest and systems are often fragile.
The gap in informal urban schools
In cities like Nairobi, informal schools serve nearly 70 percent of school-going children in low-income areas. Despite this, many remain excluded from initiatives such as the Dishi na County programme, which primarily targets public schools.
While charitable and donor-funded interventions attempt to bridge this gap, they are often short-term and narrowly focused. They rarely build the long-term systems required for sustainable delivery.
Conventional models tend to rely on large-scale outsourcing—centralized procurement, external logistics, and major catering firms. Though efficient on paper, these approaches can weaken local ownership and disconnect programmes from the communities they are meant to serve.
A locally rooted solution
An alternative model is emerging—less visible but deeply embedded in local communities. This approach centers on organized local enterprises that are directly accountable to the families they serve.
In this system, schools do more than purchase food—they become anchors of local food economies. Parents are not just beneficiaries; they are farmers, traders, transporters, and suppliers.
In informal settlements, trust is currency. Local traders and producers operate on reputation as much as regulation. When they are integrated into school feeding programmes, accountability becomes immediate and tangible. Quality is monitored not just by policy, but by community relationships.
Strengthening trust through organization
Trust alone, however, is not enough—it must be supported by structure. Across areas such as Kibra, Korogocho, and Mukuru, agrifood traders and smallholder farmers are forming legally recognized associations to coordinate supply and improve standards.
For instance, the Mukuru Agribusiness Association has brought together local traders who once worked independently. Through a shared community kitchen, they now provide nutritious meals to nearby informal schools, using food sourced from local producers.
This coordinated approach improves reliability, aligns supply with demand, and introduces better food handling practices—all while maintaining strong community ties.
Beyond feeding: building local economies
When school feeding is delivered through local enterprises, the impact extends far beyond nutrition. Funds circulate within communities: schools pay traders, traders pay farmers, and income flows back into households.
This creates economic multipliers that support livelihoods, strengthen resilience, and address broader challenges such as youth unemployment and urban poverty.
Addressing concerns of scale and standards
Skeptics often question whether locally driven systems can meet the demands of scale, quality, and food safety. However, Kenya’s experience with smallholder farmers in export markets shows that they can—especially when supported by structured training, shared standards, and regulatory frameworks.
Initiatives like community kitchens and supplier groups demonstrate that local ownership can coexist with professional standards. In fact, they often enhance them by reinforcing accountability.
A shift in how we think about school feeding
Ultimately, school feeding is not just about providing meals—it is about building systems. It raises critical questions: Who supplies the food? Who earns the income? Who gains skills? And who is trusted to deliver?
For Kenya’s school feeding ambitions to succeed long-term, the focus must shift from distant suppliers to organized, community-based enterprises. Integrating these local actors into county planning and procurement systems could prove transformative.
Because in the end, school feeding works best when those preparing the meals are deeply invested in the wellbeing of the children they serve.
