Company Size
201-500
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$2M
Headquarters
Nairobi, Kenya
Founded
2012
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David Maraga hails Kenyan couple running American farm feeding schoolchildren, low-income families. Published 20 Sep 2026 at 2:48 PM * Former chief justice David Maraga visited an exclusive organic farm in Maryland run by a Kenyan couple * The farm, supported by government grants, supplies vegetables to hundreds of schoolchildren and 1,000 low-income families weekly * Maraga used the visit to outline food sovereignty and agriculture pledges under his UGM Party ahead of the 2027 election Nancy Odindo is a current affairs writer at Tuko.co.ke (joined in 2023). She has one year of experience in print and more than five years in digital media. Former chief justice and 2027 presidential aspirant David Maraga has visited an exclusive organic farm in Maryland, United States, operated by a Kenyan couple. Maraga shared the visit on Sunday, September 20, describing professor Charles Choti and Dr. Truphena Choti's farm as "a story of African food powering American medicine" and calling it a model of what food sovereignty can look like in practice. What AfriThrive does. Backed by government support and grant funding, AfriThrive distributes vegetables and fruits to hundreds of schoolchildren and approximately 1,000 low-income families every week through dedicated distribution centres. Search option is now available at TUKO! Feel free to search the content on topics/people you enjoy reading about in the top right corner;) The organisation promotes indigenous vegetables, equips farmers with technical knowledge and resources, and works directly with local hospitals and dietitians to supply produce to patients advised to increase their fruit and vegetable intake. Footage from the visit shows garden plots, a greenhouse, and small animal enclosures, with the AfriThrive-branded van bearing the tagline "Nourish. Educate. Transform." visible throughout. Maraga drew attention to the cost of organic farming and the role of grants in making the operation viable. "Think about it. The children will grow healthy. The cost of health care will definitely go down. And besides that, you have children in school instead of being in hospitals," Maraga said. Maraga's agriculture pledges for Kenya. Maraga connected the visit directly to his political platform, arguing that Kenya's agriculture policies must treat the health of its people as national wealth. "Food is a fundamental right, and keeping Kenyans healthy will be a top priority for my government," he wrote in the post accompanying the video. Under his UGM Party, Maraga pledged to subsidise food production costs, protect farmers' rights, and safeguard indigenous seeds. He also said the party would ban harmful chemicals and herbicides that pollute ecosystems and support research through the Ministry of Agriculture into indigenous foods with medicinal value. Maraga further called for the adoption of school feeding programmes across Kenya, arguing that nutritious meals promote good health and keep children in class rather than in hospitals, echoing the observations made during his Maryland tour. "We must also adopt school feeding programmes that provide nutritious meals, promote good health, and keep millions of Kenyan children in school," he said. The politician warned that industrial monocultures, over-reliance on chemicals, and the corporate consolidation of seed patents pose a growing threat to farmers' livelihoods and national food security globally, framing AfriThrive's model as a counter-example worth replicating. Kenyan nutritionist wins German Africa Prize. Elsewhere, Wawira Njiru, a Kenyan nutritionist and founder of Food4Education, won the 2026 German Africa Prize. Her school feeding programme now reaches more than 660,000 children, employs over 6,000 people, and supports thousands of smallholder farmers. What began as lunch for 25 hungry schoolchildren has developed into a nationwide initiative linking nutrition, education, and economic opportunity. Njiru will receive the award at a ceremony in Berlin on November 4, 2026.
Wawira Njiru wins 2026 Diane von Furstenberg (DVF) Leadership Award. 2 hours ago September 7, 2026 Kenyan social innovator and founder of Food4Education, Wawira Njiru, received the Leadership Award at the 2026 DVF Awards ceremony held in Venice, Italy. The DVF Awards were founded in 2010 by Diane von Furstenberg and the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation to recognise, support and amplify the voices of extraordinary women who are dedicated to improving the lives of other women. These are women who have demonstrated the courage to fight, the strength to survive and the leadership to inspire. Wawira, the only African honoree in this year's class, was recognised alongside actor and activist Jane Fonda, Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario and author, advocate and survivor Gisèle Pelicot. Wawira Njiru with fellow 2026 DVF Award honourees, including Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Amor Mottley, Jane Fonda, Lynsey Addario and Gisèle Pelicot, alongside Diane von Furstenberg at the 17th Annual DVF Awards in Venice, Italy. Wawira founded Food4Education in 2012 to feed 25 children, so hunger would not prevent them from learning. Fourteen years later, Food4Education serves more than 660,000 meals every school day and is on track to serve one million meals daily by 2027. Beyond this, Food4Education has created more than 6,000 jobs across Kenya, most of them held by women, demonstrating how school feeding can function as economic infrastructure: creating jobs, supporting farmers' livelihoods, strengthening local markets and investing in the human capital that will shape Africa's future. "The world looks at African children and often sees need. Rarely as potential. I see something else," Wawira told guests gathered at Teatro Carlo Goldoni. "[They are] the greatest concentration of builders, innovators, scientists, artists and leaders the world has ever known." The DVF Awards have recognised women from more than 30 countries for leadership across issues including climate, human trafficking, gender equality and violence prevention. Each honoree receives a grant from the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation to further the work of their nonprofit organisation.
Kenyan social innovator Wawira Njiru named 2026 German Africa Prize laureate. Wawira Njiru will receive the award from the German Africa Foundation in Berlin on November 4 by STAR REPORTER Kenyan social innovator and nutritionist Wawira Njiru has been named the recipient of the 2026 German Africa Prize in recognition of her pioneering work to transform school feeding from a welfare intervention into a driver of economic development. Demographics Njiru, the founder and CEO of Food4Education (F4E), will receive the prestigious award from the German Africa Foundation in Berlin on November 4. The award will be presented by Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Reem Alabali Radovan, at the Allianz Forum. The recognition comes as Food4Education continues to expand its school feeding model across Kenya, where it now provides meals to more than 660,000 children in over 1,900 schools and 17 counties. The organisation says it has served more than 200 million meals since its establishment in 2012. The German Africa Prize jury made the announcement on Wednesday saying it was recognising Njiru's approach to linking school feeding with food security, local agriculture, employment and economic participation. "Wawira Njiru demonstrates that school feeding can be much more than simply providing meals," said Claus Stäcker, President of the German Africa Prize jury and Director of Africa Programmes at Deutsche Welle. "With Food4Education, she has created a system that reaches children, involves families and strengthens local economic cycles. Her idea and her commitment have led to an African solution to a global challenge." What started as an initiative serving just 25 schoolchildren has grown into one of Kenya's largest school feeding programmes. Through its model, F4E brings together families, schools, farmers, government and philanthropic partners to finance and deliver school meals at scale. The organisation's digital platform, Tap2Eat, enables families to contribute towards meals using NFC-enabled wristbands and cards while supporting the planning of procurement, food production and distribution. F4E says its model delivers a nutritious meal for approximately 30 US cents, while keeping food waste below two per cent. Its Nairobi-based Giga Kitchen, powered by solar and steam technology, is part of the infrastructure supporting the organisation's growing operations. Njiru said the award reflects a broader shift in how school feeding is viewed in Africa. "For too long, school feeding was treated as charity. We have proven it is economic infrastructure," she said. "What we have built in Kenya shows what is possible when African solutions are designed around our own realities and built to work at scale." Demographics According to Njiru, governments are increasingly looking beyond the number of children being fed to the wider economic impact of school feeding programmes. "They are asking how many jobs we can create, how many farmers we can connect to markets, and how much of their own budget is reinvested in local communities," she said. The economic impact of the model extends beyond schools and children. About 80 per cent of the food served by Food4Education is sourced from local smallholder farmers, providing them with a predictable market for their produce. The organisation has also grown into a significant employer, with more than 6,000 people working across its operations. The majority are women and young people, including many in their first formal employment. The workforce includes kitchen managers, food-safety specialists, logistics and supply-chain professionals and software engineers. F4E's approach is also increasingly being shared beyond Kenya. The organisation is working with African governments to transfer lessons, technology and operational expertise while allowing individual countries to adapt the model to their own systems. In Zambia, for instance, F4E is supporting the government to strengthen a nationally led school feeding system. The award comes as Food4Education prepares to expand its reach further in Kenya, with the organisation targeting one million children receiving daily meals by 2027 Njiru's recognition places Kenya's school feeding experience at the centre of an increasingly important global conversation around food security, local economic development and the role of government in building resilient food systems. The German Africa Foundation has awarded the German Africa Prize since 1993 to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to areas including democracy, peace, sustainable development, environmental protection, research and innovation, cultural exchange and human rights. Njiru will formally receive the 2026 award at a ceremony in Berlin on November 4, where her work in building an African-led school feeding model will be recognised alongside the wider contribution of African innovators to addressing global challenges.
Bengaluru - The Akshaya Patra Foundation, the world's largest NGO-run school meal program and an implementation partner of the PM POSHAN program based in Bangalore, India, is pleased to announce a transformative partnership with Food4Education, a Kenya-based nonprofit dedicated to mainstreaming school feeding programs across Africa.
To address these challenges, the Akshaya Patra Foundation has partnered with Food4Education to transform school feeding programs in Kenya.