Findings from School Assessments

Farmers Helping Farmers was first introduced to me by Jennifer Taylor through her course, Food Systems. She and Glory Karimi presented on the nature of current food systems in various regions, including Kenya. I remember studying for the exam and feeling overwhelmed by the slide outlining all the projects Farmers Helping Farmers does. It truly is extraordinary how multidisciplinary the work is for such a small organization. It is incredible to be part of this team now. 

Lots of high fives during school assessments! We even sang Jingle Bells.

Over the past month, the nutrition group (Miriam, Bridget, and I) have been working steadily on school meal and food safety assessments. Each assessment is followed by a feedback presentation of the findings to the head teacher and, often, to the FHF staff person assigned to the school and to other school staff. During these presentations, we are impressed by everyone’s attentiveness and engagement. There is a genuine interest in improving school nutrition and food safety for students.

All smiles here. Management is a huge part of the success in many schools!

 I recall one teacher, Alice, saying, "You walked around the school, used your eyes, and wrote about what you saw, so we will follow the recommendations." Moments like this are incredibly rewarding, as it helps me see that our efforts in assessment and recommendations can lead to meaningful change. 

Presenting the meal and food safety assessment to teacher Alice

For our school food safety assessment, we assess five areas: student hygiene, school environment, kitchen area, food storage area, and the school garden. The school garden has consistently scored among the highest across the schools we visit (with thanks to FHF staff Gikundi, Salome, and Mwenda). Some areas, however, are more challenging for schools. More than once, we have found that students are not handwashing and need to report this to the head teacher; this is not easy feedback to provide to schools. However, on a positive note, assessments often help us identify root causes. For example, at one school, there was no handwashing station; the new station had not yet been installed. A recommendation to install the station in a convenient location helps establish this important food safety measure as a priority to support both student and staff health. By contrast, in one school, each classroom teacher accompanied their students to the handwash station, and one student per class was assigned to dispense liquid handsoap into the hands of each student in the class.

Bridget and Enya with the cooks and gardener at a school.

 In the meal assessment, we present findings on the nutritional adequacy of uji (porridge) and githeri (maize and bean stew). One encouraging finding has been the high vitamin A content in githeri due to adding ample amounts of leafy green and orange vegetables from the school’s garden. In Kenya, the diets are typically deficient in iron, zinc, and vitamin A. Hence, it has been particularly exciting to see that the school meals have enough vitamin A. At two schools we have visited, a single portion of githeri provided the full daily requirement of vitamin A! 

Students love to have their photos taken

Asante sana to everyone who has made this experience possible. 

Enya (yes, Kenya without the K) 

#QEScholars