By Vincent Gunde
Mary’s Meals Malawi (MMM) says in Dowa district, it is feeding 44,358 as of May, 2026 while in the same period in 2025, it was 41,896.
Mary’s Meals School Feeding Programme in Malawi started in 2002 with two schools in Blantyre and over the years, the programme has grown to 1,296 schools across Malawi.
Currently, Mary’s Meals Malawi is feeling over 1.3 million learners making it the largest School Feeding Programme in Malawi and in Dowa district, it covers 43 schools within the areas of Traditional Authorities Chiwere, Chakhaza, Mkukula, Mponela and Msakambewa in six education zones of Boma, Chibwata, Kafumphe, Kanyenje, Kabwinja, and Madisi.
The organization’s School Feeding Manager Jacob Khumalo, said the school feeding programme is being implemented with a vision of those who have more than they need, share with those who lack even the most basic things, and that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education.
Khumalo said the feeding programme has a mission statement of enabling people to offer their money, goods, skills, time, or prayer, and through this involvement, provide the most effective help to those suffering the effects of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.
He said the programme is being implemented using different approaches such as striving to maintain low costs by ensuring that the funds can be used to maximum effect, to reach as many children as possible and designing to suit local needs and context and pride themselves in adapting innovative new approaches wherever possible.
The Manager said among the key activities lined up for school feeding programme include provision of Likuni Phala to 43 schools, community engagement, capacity building for School Health Nutrition teachers on stock management and capacity building for communities on food preparation, serving and hygiene.
He said the feeding programme has registered successes in local leaders support in kitchen construction, community resource mobilization in terms of fuel, volunteers and water and school provision of required data for enrollment, attendance and stock management.
“There’s collaborative planning with the district education Department – data for expansion of schools and stakeholder participation, and linkages,” said Khumalo.
However, Khumalo said the school feeding programme is meeting some challenges in the course of implementation such as cases of theft and mismanagement, poor record documentation in most schools by School Health Nutrition teachers and Head teachers, and low volunteer participation especially during harvesting period, among others.
Khumalo said going forward, the school feeding programme has plans of continuously engaging traditional leaders in mobilization of locally available resources for the school feeding programme, hold joint monitoring visit to schools with Ministry of Education officials, constant collection of accurate data in schools, conducting monthly head counts for informed food orders and feeding instructions, among others.
He said it is the wish of Mary’s Meals Malawi (MMM) to continue to reach the next child in Malawi and shall always ensure that daily meal is provided in a place of education.
