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Mission Statement
Mary's Meals runs school feeding projects in countries where poverty and hunger prevent children from getting an education. Our vision is that every child receives one daily meal in their place of education and that all those who have more than they need, share with those who lack even the most basic things. Mary’s Meals is a global movement supported by people from many walks of life and different backgrounds. Our mission is to enable 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 communities. We welcome all into the Mary’s Meals family and we believe everyone has something important to contribute to the realisation of our vision.
About This Cause
At Mary’s Meals, we are focused on one goal – that every child receives a nutritious daily meal in a place of education. These life-changing meals attract hungry children into the classroom. The food fills their empty bellies so they have the energy and opportunity to learn, giving them the chance of a brighter future. The meals also support families struggling to feed their children while boosting the country’s wider economy. Our school feeding programmes are owned and run by community volunteers in the countries where we provide food. For example, there are over 80,000 volunteers in Malawi who take turns to prepare, cook and serve the daily meal in each school. School feeding committees – made up of parents, teachers and volunteers – are crucial to our work and one of the first things to be established in any new area receiving Mary’s Meals. Our monitors work closely with these committees. They regularly visit schools to ensure the precious ingredients we provide are cooked and served correctly and to offer training and encouragement to the community volunteers. Wherever possible, we serve locally produced food. This supports the local community and its farmers as well as the wider economy. Research has proven that school feeding has a range of positive impacts, since children who are not suffering from hunger are able to make the most of their education. Around 64 million of the world’s hungriest children do not attend school. In order to survive, they have to work or beg. Even if they do make it into the classroom, hunger affects their ability to learn. Mary's Meals works in 18 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. The main focus of Mary’s Meals is our school feeding programmes but we also have a long history of providing emergency relief to vulnerable regions around the world. Mary’s Meals grew out of a response to the Bosnian conflict in the early 1990s. Since then we have been involved in emergency relief work in countries including Myanmar, Haiti, India, Kenya and Thailand. At the heart of any emergency relief work we undertake, is always our principle of feeding vulnerable children in a place of education. In many cases, we have been able to extend our support to reach wider communities. Mary’s Meals has strong relationships with partners operating throughout the world. Should an emergency situation arise in an area where we have a trusted local partner, we will work together in order to reach those suffering most. In general, we remain open to assisting wherever there is great need and we’re able to mount an effective response. By providing a daily meal in a place of learning, we meet the immediate needs of hungry children and encourage them to go to school to gain an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty. We are committed to monitoring and evaluating our work. We use the results from this to improve our school feeding programmes and strengthen our organisation to ensure that we can deliver on our promises to children and their communities. Our programmes work to contribute to the following positive changes: Child hunger at school and pre-school is reduced. More children access school and pre-school education. Child health and wellbeing at school and pre-school improves. More children engage in school and pre-school education. Pre-school children are better prepared for primary school. Community ownership of and engagement in school feeding increases. More children progress within school and pre-school education. The value placed on education by communities increases. Others are influenced and encouraged to contribute to, support, take ownership of, and replicate effective school feeding programmes. We have a monitoring, evaluation and learning strategy, which reflects our commitment to assessing our impact through a combination of long-term research and ongoing monitoring. We use this data to build and share learning about what works and how we can improve. Mary’s Meals is currently conducting five-year quasi-experimental impact assessment research projects in Malawi, Zambia and Liberia to examine and evidence the impact that Mary’s Meals’ school feeding programme is having on the lives of vulnerable children and their communities. This work is designed, project-managed and delivered by Mary’s Meals and is being independently assessed, evaluated and verified throughout by the International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC). INTRAC’s scrutiny is essential in ensuring that our work is objective and credible. The studies assess the impact of Mary’s Meals’ programmes against groups of schools where we are not currently feeding but plan to be able to work in future, through surveys and focus groups with children, teachers, volunteers and families. The results from our research among a sample of schools in Malawi demonstrate that Mary’s Meals’ school feeding programme is making a significant impact to reduce levels of child hunger at school and to increase access, participation and progression within primary education. Some of the key findings are: • Reduced hunger among children at school. Many children, teachers and volunteers observed the positive physical effects that the school feeding programme is making. For example, the percentage of children saying they feel hungry at school at least ‘sometimes’ decreased from 87% to 13%. The percentage of teachers saying ‘children in my class never complain of hunger’ increased from 7% to 87%. • Improved school attendance and the elimination of absences attributed to hunger. Our research found a marked reduction in the numbers of children leaving school early during the school day. Most importantly, the incidences of this linked to hunger disappeared completely (decreasing from 29% to 0). 98% of teachers said that children pay more attention in class since Mary’s Meals started feeding at their school. • Reduced levels of children dropping out of school. Teachers reported a reduction in the number of children dropping out of school due to hunger and observed that progression and completion rates had improved. 99% of children said they find it easier to learn at school. • Increased feelings of happiness at school and decreased levels of anxiety due to hunger. The percentage of children saying ‘I feel happy at school’ increased from 60% to 81%, and 97% of children said having Mary’s Meals’ porridge at school had made a positive difference to their lives. The percentage of children saying they worry about being hungry at school at least ‘sometimes’ decreased from 61% to 7%. Ultimately the report demonstrates that as well as attracting children in to the classroom and improving enrolment and attendance, school feeding has the power to reduce classroom hunger, improve concentration and participation in class, as well as affecting children’s overall happiness and hunger-related anxiety, acting as a key investment in a country’s future and a cost-effective route out of poverty for the long-term.