A nutrition initiative in Murang’a is doing more than feeding pupils; it is generating employment, boosting small businesses, and creating earnings for residents supplying goods and services tied to the program.
In a dusty quarry in Kimunyu village of Murang’a, Jesse Mosesknown locally as Jessymanages the procurement of sand for building projects.
Jessy’s current activities illustrate how investment in children’s nutrition can spark broader economic opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
Back then, my focus was simply on the number of wheelbarrows of sand we could scoop and haul in a day. I employed two helpers to dig beside me, and we labored under the sun for long stretches, shovelling and loading the material. Occasionally, after all that effort, my payment arrived only after two days, he explained.
The turning point came in 2016 when Jessie was asked to supply sand directly to a contractor building a contemporary kitchen for a nonprofit situated on the outskirts of Murang’a town.
That moment marked a shift, he reminisced. Instead of supplying intermediaries, I began delivering directly to a firm constructing a modern kitchen that would nourish young students in public primary schools.
Years later, Jessie still feels confident about focusing on construction materials like sand, while many of his peers migrated to Nairobi seeking white‑collar employment that rarely materialized.
Having completed secondary school, Jessie has now established a legacy as a contractor and oversees the erection of several of the nonprofit’s kitchens nationwide.
From a casual labourer to a business owner, Jessie now employs dozens of workers through his firm, including former classmates.
His company supplies directly to Food4Education, the Kenyan nonprofit that has served more than 635,000 learners daily since 2012.
Today, he leads a team of over 40 employees, all driven by a shared purpose.
GAMBLE PAYS OFF
Charles Kamau, who provides vegetables and fruits, found his partnership with Food4Education during one of the toughest economic periods recently.
He joined the initiative in February 2023, a time when many enterprises were still grappling with the lingering effects of the Covid‑19 pandemic. He had a lorry loaded with cabbages from Murang’a and unsure of buyers.
Then Food4Education called for 600 kilograms of cabbage, just as he was preparing to unload his vehicle in Ruiru Town.
Choosing Food4Education meant letting go of his established clientele, he said. I gave up long‑term customers in favor of feeding students, even though it was a risk.
Yet this gamble ultimately reshaped his fortunes.
Presently, Kamau employs 73 staff directly and supports more than 400 workers indirectly through his supply chain. His business collaborates with 126 smallholder farmers owning less than an acre, as well as nine larger ones.
Jessie’s and Kamau’s earlier decisions to engage with Food4Education have yielded significant returns.
At scale, the organization not only creates openings for small vendors but also generates employment, supports local businesses, and stimulates economic activity across Kenyan communities.
They include over 300 artisans, transporters, manufacturers and food vendors who recently convened in Nairobi for a capacity‑building workshop hosted by Food4Education.
The session highlighted the extensive impact of school feeding programs, gauged not just by meals delivered but also by businesses and livelihoods nurtured.
For Jessie, the path evolved from supplying construction materials for the nonprofit’s early kitchens to joining its food supply ecosystem as the network grew.
From a wheelbarrow to a lorry, he advanced from a sand provider to a full‑time contractor, paralleling the expansion of centralized kitchens.
GENDER INCLUSIVE
Mary Nduta, a vegetable vendor in Tetu, Nyeri, stands as evidence of the program’s transformative power.
She recalls delivering only 96 kilograms of tomatoes in the early days, whereas today she supplies close to 800 kilograms to Food4Education.
Food4Education has taken them far, she remarked. Where you earn your daily bread is where you invest.
Nduta notes that female suppliers are as numerous as male counterparts, reflecting the organization’s broader commitment to women’s economic empowerment.
I am pleased with how the organization treats us. About half of the suppliers are women, and within the organization, up to 70 % of the staff are women. It truly cares for us, she added.
Nduta now collaborates with roughly ten women who assist her in selecting and gathering produce before loading it for the feeding kitchens.
I pay them every two weeks once I receive payment. They are content because that income supports their families, she said.
When asked why an equal number of women staff and vendors exist, Food4Education’s CEO Wawira Njiru explained it wasn’t intentional.
Many inquired why the staff count favored women; she replied that when the program started, women were more willing to work alongside me than men.
The men were hesitant over cooking duties, she said, which led to a naturally higher participation of women.
For artisans like Peter Njuguna, the partnership became a springboard for innovation, skills transfer and enterprise growth.
In 2018, Njuguna received a contract for 80 food containers. Soon after, the request rose to 200.
The orders kept climbing, leading him to produce over 3,000 containers as the feeding initiative spread nationwide.
To meet the demand, he trained additional hands, turning a one‑man operation into a firm employing dozens.
Now he works as far as Mombasa and Kakamega for maintenance and repair tasks, opportunities he says would never have materialized without the partnership.
I’ve learned that progress demands innovation and alignment with the organization, he reflected.
GROWTH AND AMBITIONS
In late 2025, Food4Education purchased 703 metric tonnes of cabbage, 221 metric tonnes of carrots, and over 2.1 million bananasillustrating how feeding programs stimulate local agriculture and fortify rural economies.
Sustainability remained central to the organization’s expansion strategy, Wawira stated during the vendors’ workshop. We secure donors, government, and parental support to sustain the program, she noted.
Over the last 15 months, the initiative delivered 20,874 tonnes of food components and 10.8 million fruits, sourcing approximately eighty per cent from smallholder farmers.
Starting from a modest kitchen in Ruiru that served 25 children in 2012, the nonprofit now operates more than 180 kitchens across Kenya.
Food4Education’s COO Nyawira Nyandia says the plan is to broaden to five more counties in the next 18 months, aiming to serve one million meals a day by 2027.
As the program expands, new opportunities emerge for vendors as demand increases, she told the workshop attendees, adding that the organization seeks grander goals.
By procuring locally sourced food, transport, construction materials, and other services, feeding programs establish stable markets for small enterprises, stimulate rural economies, and create jobs along the supply chain.
Economists observe that, beyond learning and nutrition benefits, school feeding injects funds directly into local economies, helping families and businesses grow sustainably.
When local procurement occurs, programs reinforce small businesses, generate employment, and elevate household incomes while simultaneously improving children’s education and nutrition.
As global governments and development agencies seek lasting solutions to hunger, Food4Education’s model demonstrates that feeding programs can transform communities.
Such initiatives create employment, foster entrepreneurship, strengthen agriculture, empower women and artisans, and ignite economic ecosystems.
Jessy now stands off the dust‑laden quarry, overseeing teams as modern kitchens rise on sites he once supplied sand for.
The effect is both personal and widespread, reflecting how feeding programs reshape livelihoods, strengthen communities, and shape the future for a generation. Belief in one another fueled this journey.