Mary’s Meals has more than two decades of experience in addressing classroom hunger and is currently using grant funding from The Light Foundation to initiate positive change in communities in Kenya (specifically in Turkana), South Sudan, and Madagascar.
By providing much-needed meals in school, the programme seeks to offer children experiencing poverty the opportunity to return to education or continue their schooling. The meals, prepared and served by community volunteers, not only meet the children’s immediate need for sustenance, but can also improve their overall health and happiness, reduce chronic hunger, and provide energy for their learning and play.

The Mary’s Meals school feeding model is designed with sustainability in mind, sourcing meal ingredients from local agribusinesses wherever possible and building capacity within communities to deliver the programme for their children. Mary’s Meals offers training to local volunteers – many of whom are parents or relatives of the learners – on important topics such as food storage, meal preparation, and safe and fair serving. The school feeding programmes funded by The Light Foundation are a vital lifeline for families suffering extreme food insecurity, and a beacon of hope for their children who can attend preschool and primary school confidently because of the meal on offer.

In 2022, with the support from The Light Foundation, Mary’s Meals was able to provide a daily meal at 134 schools or preschools. This joint initiative enabled more than 10,500 children in Madagascar, more than 10,500 children in Kenya, and more than 7,000 children in South Sudan to stay in school and learn better while they were there. Thanks to this partnership, tens of thousands of children have a significantly better chance of avoiding exploitation and building a better future for themselves and their families.