Schools Urged to Promote Healthy Eating Habits

Education and health experts are calling on Kenyan schools to do more to promote healthy eating among pupils, warning that poor diet in school can contribute to long-term health risks like non-communicable diseases (NCDs). At a recent forum, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) emphasized the urgent need to strengthen school feeding programs, emphasizing not just quantity but quality of meals to help protect children from NCDs.
As part of the push, parents and nutritionists are advocating for schools to adopt clear nutrition guidelines—especially for ECDE (early childhood development) learners—to help young children learn to identify unhealthy foods and make better food choices. The call reflects growing concern that many school meals are not nutritionally balanced, and that schools should work with health experts to design menus that support both learning and long-term health.
Kenya’s Vision 2030 plan supports this agenda: the School Health and Nutrition initiative aims to provide midday meals, hygiene education, and nutrition education in schools — particularly in under-resourced areas. This includes reintroducing a school milk programme, especially in underserved regions, to help deliver essential nutrients to children.
There is also strong policy backing. According to the National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, schools are expected to include nutrition education in their curricula and to actively promote healthy eating habits. Health‑promotion projects in schools — such as those run by the World Diabetes Foundation — also aim to help teachers, vendors, and students understand healthy diets and prevent diet‑related diseases.