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Nakuru, an agricultural county seeking school feeding assistance

More schools in Nakuru County are set to benefit from a five-year partnership with Feeding Futures Charity, through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at promoting sustainable school meal programmes across the county.

This initiative seeks to combat malnutrition, improve educational outcomes, and strengthen community-driven agricultural projects.

At the signing ceremony, Nakuru County Secretary Dr. Samuel Mwaura and Feeding Futures Charity Chairperson Vanessa Bennett, discussed key areas of collaboration. These included expanding the sustainable school meal model to additional schools within the county, implementing climate adaptation measures, and fostering community engagement in school development.

Schools to benefit from the programme will be identified based on criteria such as poverty levels and malnutrition rates, to ensure targeted and impactful intervention.

The agreement outlines specific commitments for both parties. Feeding Futures Charity has pledged to empower communities to take an active role in sustaining the program, source food locally to support nearby farms and suppliers, and engage students in agricultural practices and climate awareness initiatives.

Meanwhile, the County Government has committed to facilitating the charity’s access to schools, sharing relevant policy documents and data to support project planning, involving Feeding Futures in county training programmes, and raising awareness among county professionals to enhance the program’s effectiveness.

Despite being an agricultural county, Nakuru faces significant challenges in providing adequate nutrition for its population, particularly school-aged children.

This paradox highlights the complex interplay of factors contributing to food insecurity, even in regions with agricultural potential.

Dr. Mwaura noted that several factors contribute to Nakuru’s food insecurity, such as small-scale farming dominance, and the owners of small farms often lack access to modern agricultural techniques, quality inputs, and market linkages, which limits their productivity and income-generating capacity.

Another challenge, he said, was climate changes such as erratic rainfall patterns, drought, and floods. These extreme weather events disrupt crop production and livestock farming.

Also, inefficient post- harvest handling and storage practices result in significant food losses, further reducing the availability of food at the household levels. And, poverty and income inequality limit access to nutritious food, especially for vulnerable population like children.

Apart from that, rapid urbanization and land use change for non-agricultural land, impacting food production, especially in Molo and Bahati sub-counties that are blessed with fertile soils and adequate rainfall.

School feeding programmes, like the one initiated by Feeding Futures Charity, play a crucial role in addressing food insecurity and improving educational outcomes.

By providing nutritious meals to students, these programmes improve nutritional status of students, increase school attendance, stimulate local economy by creating a market for the local farmers and promotes sustainable agriculture.

While Nakuru’s agricultural potential is undeniable, addressing the underlying factors contributing to food insecurity requires a multifaceted approach.

By investing in sustainable agriculture, improving infrastructure, and implementing effective social safety nets, the county can work towards a future where no child goes hungry and every citizen has access to nutritious food.

A walk in the village and informal settlement areas exposes the poor food distribution because the school children who are currently on a long holiday of two months, start playing outside as early as 6:30am since their families don’t serve breakfast as they wait for their well-off friends to finish their breakfast and join them.

By Veronica Bosibori

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