1.6 million and counting…

Today, 1,667,067 children around the world will eat Mary’s Meals at school – and it’s all thanks to you! 

Back to all stories | Posted on 01/22/20 in NewsBlog

With your help, an incredible 160,000 children have been welcomed into the Mary’s Meals family in the last six months! 

Life-changing school meals are bringing new hope to some of the world’s poorest and most remote places, from war-torn South Sudan and Syria, to the mountains of Ethiopia, the rainforests of Myanmar and the deserts of northern Kenya.

These children at Vidia Primary School are among 10,790 children at 68 schools in Madagascar that began receiving Mary’s Meals for the first time in October. 

As a low-cost, no-frills charity, we work extremely hard to keep our running costs low and remain committed to ensuring that at least 93% of donations are spent directly on our charitable activities. Over the last three years we have been able to keep the amount it costs to provide each individual child with a nutritious daily meal at a steady rate, within a highly changeable global economic environment with ever-rising costs. As we reach greater numbers of children in increasingly challenging situations, and as prices rise around us, the amount it costs to feed each child has also risen. It now costs £15.90 / €18.30 / $21 to feed a child for a whole school year* – and each serving of Mary’s Meals costs just 8p GBP / 9c EUR / 11c USD.

Thanks to you, 1,667,067 children now eat Mary’s Meals. The nutritious food encourages children – who might otherwise skip school because of poverty and hunger – to come to class, giving them the energy to concentrate and learn.  

Every plate of rice and peas, mug of porridge and bowl of maize and beans helps a hungry child make the most of their education, giving them hope for a brighter future. 

* The global cost-per-child in Australian dollars is $25.00 AUD, Bosnia-Herzegovina marks is 35 BAM, Canadian dollars is $26.40 CAD, Croatian kuna is 132 HRK, Czech koruna is 459 CZK, Polish złoty is 77 PLN, and Swiss francs is 20.40 CHF.