Policy Framework For Mixed Paradigm School Meals Program in Kenya

This policy framework proposes a comprehensive, mixed-paradigm national school meals programme that integrates the strengths of centralized, decentralized, home-grown, community-based, and private-sector-led delivery models. The proposed model offers multiple benefits, including increased school enrolment and attendance, improved learner health and nutrition outcomes, and enhanced economic empowerment of local communities. In addition, it promotes efficiency, strengthens community ownership, enables scalability through technology integration, and enhances resilience to food insecurity and climate change. However, several challenges are anticipated. These include unequal coverage across regions, inadequate and unpredictable financing, infrastructure gaps, suboptimal nutritional standards, shifting political priorities, and risks of corruption. To address these constraints, the framework outlines targeted mitigation measures. These include increasing and ring-fencing government funding, upgrading supporting infrastructure, enforcing a comprehensive national school meals menu and nutrition guidelines, strengthening accountability mechanisms to combat corruption, and enhancing coordination among implementing stakeholders. Collectively, these measures aim to ensure the sustainability, equity, and effectiveness of a national school meals programme.