The purpose of the programme is to support the transformation of food systems through homegrown school feeding in selected regions in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Through the partnership with NNF, WFP and partners aim to use schools’ purchasing power to promote demand for healthy, locally sourced foods across climate-smart value chains. In total, 40,000 smallholders – responsible for the production of the food eaten by students- will be trained and supported to grow new foods, in larger quantities and of higher quality, while reducing the impact on the environment through the adoption of new climate-smart approaches. WFP will increase the volume of foods sourced locally, purchasing more than 9,000 metric tonnes of food locally including beans, maize, fortified maize meal, vegetables and fruits. Cleaner cooking technologies will be provided to more than 200 schools while critical capacity will be built for more than 2,800 school committee members and cooks, enabling them to procure food locally, manage budgets, prepare food safely using fuel-efficient preparation practices, and reduce waste.
Taking a systems approach, the partnership will adhere to three impact pathways:
1. Transition local smallholder producers to climate-smart production. Support to smallholder producers and other value chain actors in transitioning to climate smart practices and value chains with forward linkages to school feeding systems, to enhance productivity and diversity, improve livelihoods, and build adaptive capacity and climate preparedness.
2. Improve quality of school diets and food preparation contributing to cardiometabolic disease prevention. Provide technical support and assistance to governments and schools in delivering affordable, diverse, nutritious, safe and locally-sourced meals and leveraging the school as a platform for access to health services, nutrition education and climate-smart practices that improve overall health and nutrition of school-going children.
3. Promotion of cleaner cooking technologies and practices for schools. Supporting Governments in the adoption of clean, safe, and energy-efficient cooking solutions and practices for food preparation in schools to reduce the need for traditional cooking fuels such as firewood and charcoal, reducing deforestation and environmental degradation around schools as well as increasing health benefits by decreasing harmful emissions.
Partners: World Food Programme Regional Bureau for East Africa; World Food Programme Country Offices for Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda; Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition; African Population Health Research Cente; Centre for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat
