Child Hunger is one of the greatest humanitarian issues facing the world today. But, it is also one of the most solvable.
Since 2014 we have been working with incredible partners to provide school meals to children in the world's poorest countries. In our first 10 years we donated 26 million meals. We are focused on growing our impact and engaging all facets of the food industry to provide even more school meals in the years to come.
We know that a school meal is much more than a meal. Here are the 8 key outcome areas we focus on, to see the incredible power of a school meal:
Some kids go to school without breakfast, due to financial difficulties and lack of availability of food at home. Sometimes it's the only meal they have that day.
Children have told us that being hungry at school directly affects them in the classroom, feeling weak, dizzy, sleepy and getting headaches. We're now seeing kids stay in school longer in the day rather than leaving to look for food or because they're too tired and can't concentrate due to hunger.
We know that by providing school meals to children everyday, we're reducing hunger and seeing the impact of this sustained over time.
"The children are looking healthy and they are energetic. In the past they would just knock off and run home, but now they stick around until 3pm or 4pm. They are all still playing around because of the porridge." Teacher, Malawi.
Teachers are seeing a huge difference in the energy levels of kids who receive a school meal - they are concentrating and participating more in class. Kids are turning up and staying. Previously some kids wouldn't go to school because of the long walk there and back, worried they would be too hungry and fatigued. 96% of the children said they felt a little to a lot more energy after eating porridge at school*.
Imagine not knowing where your next meal is coming from. If you'll eat that day, or the next. Or if you can provide food for your family, kids. That's a huge mental load to carry. By providing school meals, we try to lessen that stressful mental load for kids and families, take the worry of hunger away for that day and let them learn and play.
We plan to be turning up every day, so kids don't have to worry about where and when they'll eat again. Through our generous food company partners who provide daily school meals, we aim to carry the load, to help the kids be kids.
Daily school meals provided = increase in number of kids enrolled in school.
A simple school meal can directly impact a child's education, and future.
Some children in one of our long term feeding program schools were recently asked about their engagement in school. They reported being 5.4 x more likely to never have problems concentrating, and 4.4 x more likely to never have difficulties in participation in class (in comparison to schools without the feeding program).
We know that children who are more engaged are more likely to progress in school. And we know that getting a school meal provided increases engagement. We have seen less kids drop out of school, and fewer kids repeating. But there are many layers to this story, and that's what keeps us, and our partners, turning up.
In some of the One Feeds Two communities, girls are leaving school to marry or due to pregnancy, families are moving to find work, kids are being sent to work or to relatives to live. Sometimes this means kids have to leave school, and sometimes they don't return.These are the everyday challenges of the kids in the places we work. There's so much to do and we wish we could do it all.
100% of communities where the school feeding program operates in Malawi said it was "important" or "very important" that children get an education.*
We know there are many factors out of families control that contribute to not every child being able to attend school. But starting with community engagement helps everyone to see its importance.
We continue to be a presence in schools and communities and commit to staying there for the long haul.
School sports day? Parent class reading? PTA? We all try to find time to fit in school commitments to our busy days.
Same in countries like Malawi, where school meals are served everyday, with the help of parents, volunteers and the local community. Behind the serving of a school meal, there's someone organising meetings, training, cooking rotas, water and firewood, managing stock levels, cooking the food and serving the meals. People are coming together and community is being built.
We’re using hunger to end hunger.
© One Feeds Two 2024 | Registered Charity of England and Wales (1153474)
