UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya Stephen Jackson highlights how the country’s climate-friendly school feeding programme is transforming public–private partnerships and serving as a driver for inclusive growth. The initiative leverages UN-supported innovative financing mechanisms to turn national budgets and local markets into engines of development, connecting farmers, schools, and communities in mutually beneficial ways.
During a visit to Turkana, Jackson observed how school meals go beyond basic nutrition, linking smallholder farmers—especially women and youth—to school canteens, generating stable incomes, and stimulating local economies. Kenya is among the leading African countries scaling up school feeding, with President William Ruto aiming to expand coverage from 2.6 million to 10 million children by 2030. The programme now serves not only as a social safety net but also as a platform for climate action, job creation, and economic resilience.
Kenya’s school meals programme focuses on locally sourced, nutritious, drought-tolerant crops and clean energy for cooking. This approach strengthens local food systems, supports farmers’ livelihoods, and advances progress across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The initiative demonstrates how integrated development policies can deliver multiple social, economic, and environmental outcomes from a single programme.
The UN has played a key enabling role in Kenya’s school feeding journey, providing technical expertise and fostering partnerships to make the programme sustainable. Through the Joint UN Programme on Home-Grown School Feeding, WFP, FAO, and IFAD, supported by the Joint SDG Fund, help the government expand the programme, connect farmers to school markets, and implement local procurement and financing models. WFP also coordinates Kenya’s National School Meals Coalition, bringing together ministries, counties, partners, and investors to scale up operations effectively.
Kenya is pioneering an innovative financing approach that blends public, private, philanthropic, South-South, and green investments. Public funds anchor the programme, while international financial institutions, foundations, bilateral partners, and private sector actors complement these resources. This approach ensures predictable demand for farmers, supports climate-friendly practices, and elevates school meals from a handout to a strategic investment with strong social and economic returns.
At the core of Kenya’s model is a shift from fragmented projects to integrated systems and from short-term aid to long-term investment. The Joint SDG Fund has enabled this transformation by moving from mere funding to systems-based financing. As a result, school meals now create full classrooms, thriving communities, greener markets, and a stronger foundation for Kenya’s sustainable future.
