The importance of a school meal

Matthews Sakala, 23, is a teacher at Chikowa Primary School in Zambia’s Mambwe District. He attended the same school as a child between 2015 and 2017, where he ate Mary’s Meals. He also remembers when Mary’s Meals had not yet started working there. 

He says: “It was so difficult. I would go home after morning sessions because I was too hungry to stay. But then when I got food I could stay for afternoon sessions and that meant I could learn faster.” 

Matthews is one of eight children, and all of his siblings had Mary’s Meals at Chikowa Primary. The younger ones still do – at this very school. Now, thanks to the nourishment and education he received, he has returned as a teacher to inspire and educate the next generation in his community. 

Matthews continues: “My parents encouraged us to stay in school and I am very proud of them because they worked so hard. Now I’m able to support them. If more children are able to stay in school, it can change our country.” 

For more than two decades now, powered by the generosity of people all over the world, Mary’s Meals has been generating real and measurable change in some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities. Our school meals are a lifeline for hungry children, giving them the chance to gain an education so they can look to a brighter future.  

Mary’s Meals provides training, monitoring, support and all the necessary ingredients to ensure children are fed a nutritious meal every school day, but ultimately, the programme is owned and run by local communities. Their dedication can change the future paths of their children, like Matthews, enabling them to become the adults who will lift their communities out of poverty. 

We have lots of evidence that our programme is having a big impact today. In schools where our meals are served, far fewer children leave school early because of hunger. In addition to bringing children into the classroom, school feeding enhances concentration, boosts participation, and increases overall happiness. 

Our research has also found that hunger is reduced within the first year of the programme and our impact on hunger is sustained over time. Additionally, school feeding programmes are widely recognised as a cost-effective way to tackle poverty by addressing the immediate needs of hungry children and contributing to the long-term development of their communities. 

The impact of a child eating a meal in school is significant. Almost 420 million children worldwide receive school meals, according to the State of School-Feeding Worldwide report, issued by the UN. 

However, with recent aid budget reductions impacting many charities, will this number fall? While these cuts will not impact Mary’s Meals’ funding directly, they will undoubtedly have a devastating impact on the communities we serve. The world’s poorest communities are already suffering extreme hunger as a result of conflicts and climate change – simply, there has never been more of a need for school meals programmes like Mary’s Meals.