Imagine being a child so hungry you can’t think straight, let alone learn. For millions of children, hunger is a barrier that keeps them from school. When a family can’t put food on the table, education drops low on the priority list.
But the life-changing Mary’s Meals organization brings a solution to both the hunger crisis and educational inequity. Mary’s Meals delivers daily meals to local schools, encouraging children to come to school every day so that both their minds and bodies can be fed.
By feeding children where they learn, Mary’s Meals meets a child's immediate need for food while supporting access to education — a proven path out of poverty. And they do this at a cost of only $25.20 per child per school year — just 13 cents per meal!
“Mary’s Meals chooses to work in those places where hunger holds children back from their full potential,” said founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow. “Nutritious school meals are a lifeline for children whose daily reality is hunger, and not only that, but these meals also unlock an opportunity for education and a path out of poverty.”
A major milestone, all for Mary
Countless children — now adults — owe their success to Mary’s Meals being a constant presence in their childhoods. Now, 22 years after those very first school meals, the organization has reached a milestone that’s nothing short of miraculous. 3 million children are fed every school day — all in Our Lady’s name.
“From the beginning, Mary’s Meals has been dedicated to Our Lady. We dared to give it her name, and we asked her to show us how she would have us do this work,” said MacFarlane-Barrow.
Fittingly, it was on Our Lady’s birthday — September 8 — that Mary’s Meals announced reaching 3 million children.
“It’s like a big birthday present — or 3 million birthday presents — to give back to her,” MacFarlane-Barrow said.
Mary’s Meals greatly expanded in eight countries — Ethiopia, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, South Sudan, Zambia, and Zimbabwe — reaching 462,000 more children facing hunger and disrupted education due to conflict, climate extremes, and political or economic instability.
On top of that, last year Mary’s Meals began operating in Mozambique, reaching 5,000 children there.
Staying the course
Mary’s Meals are now served in over 5,800 schools across 16 countries. This achievement comes at a critical time, as reductions in international aid make grassroots solutions like Mary’s Meals more important than ever.
“Those who are most vulnerable need more life-saving assistance, not less,” said MacFarlane-Barrow. “Mary’s Meals is and has always been a community of people who are not going to sit and do nothing in the face of child hunger, even as others choose to withdraw their support or turn away.”
Fortunately, many people around the world — ordinary people like you and me — help feed children in need through Mary’s Meals.
Mary’s Meals is largely reliant on generous individuals, and this grassroots reliance keeps pulling through for the children.
“We have confidence in the innate goodness of people, and our work is made possible by their little acts of love,” said MacFarlane-Barrow.
MacFarlane-Barrow will share more of his story and the dedication to Mary’s Meals at the Boston Marian Conference November 1.
Hope for the next generation
Mary’s Meals has operated for more than two decades, but as their work expands, they’re just getting started. Even more than food and education, they’re in the business of bringing hope. MacFarlane-Barrow said:
Even in the most challenging circumstances, such as Haiti, South Sudan, Syria, and Tigray in northern Ethiopia, we see this simple act of working together to serve meals to children in school ignites hope in classrooms, and homes, and throughout communities.
And when you find out that just 13 cents buys a meal, you realize that every one of us can do something to bring hope to a child today.
Three million children went to school and ate a meal today in the name of Mary. What better tribute could be made to Our Lady than that?
