Murang’a: The County Government of Murang’a is set to roll out a county-wide school meals programme targeting more than 215,000 learners in public primary schools, Junior Secondary Schools (JSS), and Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres.
According to Kenya News Agency, the programme, implemented in partnership with Food for Education (FFE), follows a successful two-year pilot conducted in 90 schools across the county. Governor Dr. Irungu Kang’ata announced that the initiative would expand to all public schools, ensuring vulnerable learners are catered for while also supporting local farmers.
The pilot programme demonstrated that the majority of parents could afford to contribute towards the cost of school meals. However, approximately 20,000 of the most vulnerable learners will have their meals funded by the county administration. The programme is expected to benefit around 215,000 learners in primary schools, JSS, and 650 ECDE centres.
The initiative will also provide a market for agricultural produce from Murang’a farmers. Specifically, the programme plans to purchase about 200,000 packets of processed milk every month from the Murang’a County Creameries Union (MCCU), in addition to other farm produce. During mango season, between January and March, the programme is expected to buy up to one million mangoes per month.
Parents will see a reduction in the cost of school meals, with their contribution set to decrease from Sh20 to Sh15 per child starting January next year. Dr. Kang’ata stated that the county government has committed Sh200 million towards the programme in the current financial year.
The programme is also expected to create employment opportunities through the recruitment of school coordinators and the election of food champions by parents during community barazas. Meanwhile, 67 new kitchens are under construction and are expected to be ready by October this year. Kitchens constructed during the pilot phase will continue operations.
The county government has scheduled training for headteachers and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) chairpersons for September 14, 15, and 16, followed by community barazas in the 418 schools not part of the pilot programme between September 21 and 24. Kitchen launches are set to take place between October 15 and December 15, 2026.
The programme will culminate in a grand launch at Ihura Stadium on January 3, 2027, followed by a refresher course for kitchen staff on January 4 and 5, with the official commencement of meals in schools scheduled for January 11, 2027.
The county government stated that the programme is anchored on an Intergovernmental Partnership Agreement with the Ministry of Education, the School Meals Policy, and a budget approved by the County Assembly, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding between the county government and Food for Education.
