Right to Food versus School lunch program.

Children come to school in the morning having missed breakfast and slept on empty stomach the night before but hoping to be served lunch.

Hot school lunch goes a long way in bridging the feeding gap in many families. It ensures school going children have some meal in a day. When food is completely missing at home, children who had gotten some earlier give way to those who had not. Children who attend schools that  serve lunch are encouraged by their parents to spare a portion of what they were served for the younger siblings at home. It is normal in center to encounter children asking for an extra food portion to take home when lunch is served.

 Food crisis in the informal settlements is brought about by extreme poverty as a result of acute unemployment.  This is compounded by large family size of between 6 to 10 people in majority of households, some of which are headed by single parents.   Food problem at the household level compounds children vulnerability as it forces them to devise coping mechanisms some of which force them out of school, besides exposing them to danger.  Because of hunger, girls are lured into child sex in return for food and with it comes the danger of pre mature pregnancy and contraction of STI including HIV/AIDS. Boys get recruited into gangs for criminal activities.

Grapesyard School runs a hot lunch program at its education central in Korogocho slums for over 1000 children daily during school days.  The younger children at kindergarten level are served 10am porridge. It has helped to attract and retain children in school in order to receive primary education. It has helped to reduce absenteeism and dropout rates. The result is improved learning outcomes by children.