Introducing New Proteins to School Meals
Getting school meal programs to take root requires identifying food sources that mesh with local supply chains. But there's also one important, under-recognized aspect to improving childhood nutrition in schools — the kids have to enjoy the food!
That was a core consideration of a new school meal program in Kenya, where our partners at Lattice Aquaculture introduced omena — a highly nutritious sardine commonly fished from Lake Victoria — into daily meals for 18,449 students across 19 schools.
The challenge? For two of the three counties the project operated in, omena wasn't part of local food culture, meaning many students had never even tasted it. The team worked methodically, training school cooks in different preparation techniques and testing them with students to find the right recipes. In the end, student acceptance of omena shot to over 90% from the initial 50%.
Now, early evaluations show measurable nutritional gains and a shift in awareness: 60% of students have begun introducing omena at home, and 98% of teachers, cooks, and local officials now support including it on school menus. The acceptance is there — now the next goal is to strengthen supply chains so omena can be a permanent piece of a school meal that's affordable, sustainable, and, of course, delicious.
Students often rely on predominantly starchy diets, with meat and beans as their primary protein sources. The inclusion of nutrient-rich omena in their meals is a valuable addition, offering a balanced macronutrient profile that can help combat malnutrition within the population.