Skip to content
Lifestyle

Over 700 Students To Access Fresh Vegetables And Fruits In School Through Air France-KLM Initiative

BY Soko Directory Team · October 28, 2024 08:10 am

KEY POINTS

“Sometimes climate shocks end up disrupting traditional food production areas, which ultimately leads to supply chain breakages. Under such situations, school kitchen gardens come in to bridge the emerging gaps, while training students to pursue self-reliance,” said Michael Waiyaki, the Founder and CEO at Miti Alliance.

Over 700 students and teachers at Thogoto Model Primary School in Kenya’s Kiambu County will benefit from fresh vegetables and fruits plucked from their new kitchen garden and orchard, established with the support of Air France-KLM Airlines.

The initiative is part of Air France-KLM’s social enterprise, which aims to create a platform for students to gain knowledge on food production and environmental conservation while providing them with access to highly nutritious food. The airline group aims to empower the school to feed its students, by supporting it in establishing its own food production hub and forest.

In the project, Air France-KLM partnered with Miti Alliance, a social enterprise that works to foster environmental education. The two organizations have provided the tools and other resources needed to ensure a smooth take-off for the project. The school will, henceforth, assume full responsibility for maintaining the garden and integrating it into its curriculum for long-term sustainability and self-reliance in the supply of ingredients for school meals.

School feeding programs are instrumental in alleviating Kenya’s malnutrition challenge, which has left nearly 18% of children under five stunted[1], according to Kenya’s Ministry of Health. With school-age children and adolescents making up nearly 36% of the country’s population, and with most spending nearly 75% of the year in school, where they access half of their daily meals[2], it is important that school menus are built on safe and nutritious ingredients.

“School-age children make up the vast majority of our population and it is upon us to ensure that they are well nourished.  Through this project, we went a step further to ensure that our target students regularly get highly nutritious vegetables and fruits for their meals, while also learning how to produce their food,” said Hildabeta Amiani, the Air France-KLM Kenya Country Sales Manager.

Kitchen gardening has been shown by various researchers to contribute to the establishment of resilience to the effects of climate change. By providing accessible food products for communities, kitchen gardens, like the one established at Thogoto Model Primary School, ensure that beneficiaries are not entirely dependent on external sources for their replenishment.

“Sometimes climate shocks end up disrupting traditional food production areas, which ultimately leads to supply chain breakages. Under such situations, school kitchen gardens come in to bridge the emerging gaps, while training students to pursue self-reliance,” said Michael Waiyaki, the Founder and CEO at Miti Alliance.

Leah Maina, the headteacher at Thogoto Model Primary School added: “As educators, we desire that the students leaving our hands are wholesome individuals, who can in addition to taking care of themselves, can transform their communities. This project will enhance their capacity to grow their food and contribute to the restoration of deforested areas in their homes.”

Air France-KLM is currently implementing a climate action plan that, among other objectives, considers the airline’s impact on food security as well as air, soil, and water resources, and waste management. This action plan informs its sustainability initiatives and plays an instrumental role in defining some of its social impact projects, including the Thogoto School initiative. Its partnership with Miti Alliance will help to counter deforestation, which affects 50,000 hectares across Kenya every year leading to KSh1.9 billion in losses.

Meanwhile, across its operations, Air France-KLM strives to minimize food waste, by using new prediction technologies to establish the number of passengers on its flights and their consumption patterns. This ensures that only the required food packages are brought on board, ultimately conserving vital food resources, while lowering the emissions generated in food waste management.

Read Also: Travel Agents Set For Enhanced Profits Courtesy Of Air France

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

Trending Stories
Government and Policy Understanding The Revised NTSA Traffic Offenses And Fines: A Guide For Safer Roads Steve Biko Wafula
Government and Policy TSC Releases New Requirements For Deployment Of P1 Teachers To Junior Secondary Getrude Mathayo
Investment Rendeavour Appoints New Board Chairman And Independent Directors Soko Directory Team
Market News Kenya Airways Resumes Trading At The NSE With A Bang, Price Ups 5.7% Standard Investment Bank
Headlines Why Health Insurance Is More Than A Policy—It’s A Promise Soko Directory Team
Related Articles
Lifestyle From Matatu Crew To Matatu Owners Soko Directory Team
Lifestyle Jack Daniel’s Rolls Out An Apple Flavor Soko Directory Team
Headlines Why Health Insurance Is More Than A Policy—It’s A Promise Soko Directory Team
Headlines Start the Year Right: Secure Your Health With Jubilee’s CoverBora Soko Directory Team
Lifestyle There Is A 48% Increase In Optimism Over The Last Six Months Soko Directory Team
Explore Soko Directory
Banking Blogging Commodity Watch Did you know Entertainment Entrepreneur's Corner Feature Government and Policy Headlines Investment Lifestyle Market News Money Opinion Press Releases Stock Watch Technology
Soko Directory Archives