How the canteen works

Each day during our season, children are fed a nutritious, home cooked meal prepared by their community.

We work with over 1,000 parent volunteers who organize and run our programs each year.

The Process

Each partner school elects a parent’s committee that will run the program for their school. This committee creates a work schedule for parent volunteers and does all the shopping and purchasing of food at the local markets. Nourish Madagascar provides training and oversight for all activities.

Daily Routine

Each day at 5 am, volunteer shoppers arrive in nearby markets to purchase the ingredients for the day. Then at 6 am, parents begin peeling and preparing the vegetables and other items on the menu. Fires are made around 8 am and enough rice for all the children is sifted and cooked by the parent volunteers. Usually the children are served by 11 am at their desks.

“During the 2 hardest months here, the kids don’t feel hungry and are excited to go to school.”

— Madame Justine (parent), Ampongamaneno

What We’ve Achieved

  • At our peak in the 2026 season, our canteens fed 2,077 children per day.

  • Since our start in 2019, we’ve served about 290,000 meals to children in the region.

  • On average it costs about 80 cents per meal.

  • Meals are prepared in accordance with nutrition guidelines from Madagascar Ministry of Education.

  • Parent groups determine the menu that respects local practices and cultural prohibitions unique to each village.

  • We take special care to include pregnant and nursing women.

  • Each partner village runs the program for 2 months when it is needed most.