The Kenyan government has unveiled a Sh94 million initiative aimed at strengthening the country’s home-grown school feeding programmes across four counties. The three-year research project, known as the Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable Procurement in Home Grown School Feeding Programmes (STEP), will enhance procurement systems, promote local agriculture, and increase access to nutritious meals for school-going children.
Targeting Embu, Makueni, Isiolo, and Nairobi counties, the STEP initiative seeks to scale up school meal coverage to reach over 10 million children by 2030. It builds upon the foundation laid by Kenya’s School Meals Programme, which currently feeds 2.6 million children daily under the National School Meals and Nutrition Strategy (2017–2022).
The programme is a collaborative effort involving the Ministry of Education, African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development, Tanager International, and four county governments. Funding is provided by Canada’s International Development Research Centre.
AATF Executive Director Dr. Canisius Kanangire emphasized that the project aims to place smallholder farmers at the heart of the school feeding ecosystem. “We want to use locally available, nutritious, and diverse ingredients grown through sustainable, agro-ecological practices,” he said. “This is not just a nutritional intervention. It is a driver of education, community development, and local economic empowerment.”
Kanangire further noted that the initiative is designed to foster resilient, localized food systems that benefit a wide range of stakeholders including farmers, aggregators, and food processors—while ensuring children receive healthy, consistent meals.
The STEP project aligns with the Ministry of Education’s 2024 Operational Plan, which prioritizes scaling up school meal coverage to improve attendance, retention, and learning outcomes across public schools.
In his remarks, Kanangire quoted a Chinese proverb to underscore the long-term impact of education: “If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees. If your plan is for one hundred years, educate your children.”
By linking education to sustainable agriculture and local economies, the STEP project is expected to significantly contribute to Kenya’s vision of inclusive, quality education and food security.
