Across Uganda, thousands of children go to school each day on empty stomachs. In rural and peri-urban communities like Namayumba, children walk long distances to school, often without breakfast or lunch. Hunger affects their ability to concentrate, learn, and stay in class. Many eventually drop out—not because they lack ambition, but because they lack food.

Studies by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education show that school feeding directly increases enrollment, attendance, and performance, especially in Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools. Yet, more than 60% of public primary schools in Uganda do not have a feeding program. For children like Matta Derrick, an 11-year-old pupil from Namayumba, a single cup of porridge can mean the difference between learning and giving up on school.

Hunger is silently robbing Uganda’s children of their future—and the nation of its next generation of leaders.

Target Beneficiaries:

• 1,309 pupils in 3 UPE primary schools (pilot)
• Parents and families in participating communities
• Local farmers, food vendors, and small businesses
• Teachers and school administrators

Approach: Community-driven and sustainable — built around parent-led school feeding committees, school gardens, and partnerships with local farmers, NGOs, and private sector contributors.

What We Are Doing

The Keep a Child in School initiative focuses on practical, community-led interventions that provide both immediate relief and long-term sustainability:

• Providing one nutritious meal a day to children in UPE schools through locally sourced food.
• Establishing parent-led feeding committees to plan, manage, and monitor feeding activities with transparency.
• Creating school gardens to grow vegetables and crops that supplement school meals and serve as learning tools for students.
• Engaging local farmers and businesses to contribute through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and fair market supply.
• Educating parents and communities about nutrition, child welfare, and their role in sustaining feeding programs.
• Launching nationwide awareness campaigns to inspire replication of the model in other districts.

What We Hope to Achieve

By the end of the pilot year, the project aims to:

• Ensure that every child in participating schools receives at least one nutritious meal daily, improving focus, attendance, and academic performance.
• Increase school enrollment and retention rates in Namayumba by at least 30%.
• Empower parents and communities to take ownership of school feeding programs, ensuring sustainability beyond external support.
• Strengthen local economies through reliable markets for smallholder farmers and food vendors.
• Create a replicable model for school feeding that can be scaled up across Uganda, contributing to national education and nutrition goals.

Ultimately, Keep a Child in School – One Meal at a Time envisions a Uganda where no child has to choose between learning and hunger, and every community becomes a partner in nourishing the nation’s future.