In memory of the empty desks—and the futures we’re filling now

“Those meals rewrote our futures. And with that, a whole generation of us were set free.” 

 

– Charles Kabena, SDG2 Advocacy Hub Communications Coordinator

As climate change intensifies in Malawi, the rains have become as unpredictable as fate. And children pay the price.

This year, they arrived late, were inconsistent, and nearly devastated parts of the country. Yet, nothing compares to the damage we endured 23 years ago. The years 2002-2003 were not just dates on a calendar for children my age—we remember them as a shadow that swallowed our joy of childhood. An HIV pandemic was sweeping through our homes, taking parents away and forcing grandmothers to become mothers once again, all while the worst hunger crisis in our country’s living memory, worsened by severe droughts, compounded our suffering. I remember this childhood.

As the food crisis worsened, many friends stopped coming to school. I especially remember Eric, one of the best footballers on our school team. His desk and those of many others across the classes sat empty, a silent testament to the food crisis that the government claimed was under control. Yet, we lived the reality: families were torn apart, loved ones left, and some even died.

Then, one morning, a miracle arrived: steaming pots of corn-soy blend porridge. The World Food Programme and other partners launched a school feeding program. Our mothers from across the 17 villages took turns, bringing in firewood and preparing porridge for us every school day. While my friend Eric did not return to school, many others did. And that meal was the only one we’d get all day. But it was enough to keep us in our seats and dream of the world beyond our village.

Subject to affordability and local availability, today, school meals have evolved significantly, with some programs incorporating beans and other nutritious foods, thanks to close collaboration among policymakers, experts, and agencies like the School Meals Coalition. Together, we have played a key role in advocating for stronger political commitments and supporting national governments in developing policies and frameworks that focus on food quality, support for local farmers, and scaling up school meal programs.

Global lesson, rooted on home soil

Simply put, those meals rewrote our futures. And with that, a whole generation of us were set free. Not only did I become my village’s first child to get selected to a government boarding secondary school, but managed to go all the way to get a University degree and set myself on a storytelling path.

Today, I coordinate communications at the SDG2 Advocacy Hub, bringing together governments, NGOs, and the private sector to accelerate efforts to transform food systems, save lives, build resilience, and secure the future. Through the New Consensus with Small-Scale Food Producers, we emphasize the centrality of home-grown school meals as central to our call for every child.

While school meal programs are not a stand-alone solution for food system reform, they are among the most powerful, practical, and proven tools available to governments to nourish children, even during food system failures. Unfortunately, these essential safety nets are often unavailable where they are most needed— in some of Africa’s poorest countries and communities.

Africa’s children are its heartbeat. As we celebrate Africa School Meals Day, amid the global shift in international funding, children must not bear the brunt of the fiscal changes.

African governments must explore innovative ways to scale up school meal programs, including ring-fencing funds for long-term food security and revitalizing local economies.

For those with questions on the long term gains of school feeding programmes, the answer lies in stories like mine, spread across the continent. When governments invest in school meals, they’re securing the future: farmers gain markets, educated boys and girls become leaders and nutrition wins. This isn’t charity— this is justice for all marginalised children.

To achieve the Africa we want, as envisioned by the new Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Plan (2026-2030), with its focus on Sustainable and Resilient Agrifood Systems for a Healthy and Prosperous Africa, school meals provide valuable opportunities to nourish children and communities, while empowering smallholder farmers and young agripreneurs.

Luckily, we now have a lot of timely evidence on how to curate and deliver nutrition-sensitive interventions.

The School Meals Programs around the World report (2024) by the Global Child Nutrition Foundation makes several key recommendations: promoting healthy diets to address both undernutrition and obesity, supporting local farmers to strengthen food-based livelihoods, and championing climate-smart foods through sustainable procurement practices. These actions are critical for ensuring school meal programs contribute to healthier, more resilient communities and sustainable food systems.

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