Dubai Cares harnesses the UAE's Year of Family to fight classroom hunger with Ramadan campaign “Feed a Child, Build a Kitchen”

• One community kitchen can provide 76,000 meals a year, create 164 jobs, and support 5,000 farmers
• Choithrams leads early support as first partner, funding two community kitchens
• Individuals and organizations can support the campaign at ramadan.dubaicares.ae

Dubai, UAE, 18 February 2026: This Ramadan, Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), is harnessing the spirit of the UAE’s Year of Family to bring people together around a shared purpose: ensuring that no child has to learn on an empty stomach. Through the launch of its Ramadan fundraising campaign Feed a Child, Build a Kitchen, the UAE-based global philanthropic organization is mobilizing support for its planet-friendly school meals program, which will begin in Kenya and expand across Sub-Saharan Africa, transforming collective generosity into lasting nourishment, opportunity, and resilience for children and their families.

Hunger continues to affect millions of people globally, with children bearing the harshest consequences. Across Africa, more than 90% of children lack access to a basic nutritious diet, and more than half do not eat at recommended frequencies. In Kenya alone, 60% of children suffer from inadequate nutrition, a crisis that directly undermines attendance, concentration, and learning outcomes. When children arrive at school hungry, lessons are harder to absorb, potential remains untapped, and futures are put at risk.

A community-powered solution to classroom hunger

The Feed A Child, Build A Kitchen campaign will support Dubai Cares’ planet-friendly school meals program, delivered through a proven model that provides daily nutritious meals through the construction of climate-friendly community kitchens. In Kenya, the program will be implemented in partnership with Food4Education (F4E) and will ensure reliable and sustainable access to nutrition for young learners while strengthening the systems that make school feeding possible at scale.

While children are at the heart of the program, its impact extends across the entire community. Meals are prepared by the mothers of the very students the program serves, providing them with dignified employment in climate friendly community kitchens, designed with sustainability in mind. Ingredients are sourced from local smallholder farms, creating reliable demand for farmers and strengthening local food systems. Once prepared, the meals are delivered to schools by local riders, generating further employment within the community. Through this farm-to-fork model, each kitchen does far more than serve meals, it creates jobs, empowers women, supports local livelihoods, and builds a sustainable ecosystem that not only strengthens families and communities, but also reduces carbon emissions for the long term.

His Excellency Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of Dubai Cares said: “At Dubai Cares, school health and nutrition is a central pillar of our approach to strengthening education systems, recognizing that children cannot learn or thrive when hunger remains a barrier to education. Building on our longstanding support for home-grown school feeding across Africa, this campaign will support an integrated, systems-driven approach to planet-friendly school feeding programs that goes beyond providing daily meals to strengthening the systems that sustain them. Beginning in Kenya and expanding across Sub-Saharan Africa, this model integrates climate-friendly community kitchens, local sourcing from smallholder farmers, and community-led delivery to ensure school meals are reliable, sustainable, and locally driven. By nourishing children while supporting farmers, creating jobs, and strengthening local food systems, these programs help build more resilient communities where learning and opportunity can take root.”

Expected impact: one kitchen, many lives impacted

Kicking off in Kenya’s Embu County, where classroom hunger is a critical barrier to education, each kitchen will provide 76,000 nutritious meals every year to 400 early learners aged 3–6 across 21 rural schools, ensuring children arrive in the classroom ready to learn. Beyond nutrition, each kitchen will create an estimated 164 local jobs, the majority of which are held by women, strengthening household incomes and building greater family resilience. By sourcing grains, legumes, and vegetables from local smallholder farmers, the model will also support 5,000 farmers across Kenya, boosting local food systems and livelihoods while reducing environmental impact through clean energy and low-emission cooking technologies. Designed for scale, this approach will expand beyond Kenya across Sub-Saharan Africa, demonstrating how sustainable, locally driven school feeding can strengthen education systems and entire communities for the long term.

“The Feed a Child, Build a Kitchen campaign reflects the power of collective action to deliver sustainable school meals that nourish children, families, and local economies,” said Amal Al Redha, Director of Partnerships at Dubai Cares. “This model resonates across sectors because it combines education, nutrition, climate-conscious infrastructure, and local economic empowerment into one scalable solution. As we mark the UAE’s Year of Family, we are inviting partners across retail, F&B, logistics, finance, and beyond to play a role in turning shared values into lasting impact by helping ensure that every child can learn, free from hunger.”

Demonstrating early private sector leadership, Choithrams, a long-standing donor to Dubai Cares, has become the first supporter of the Feed a Child, Build a Kitchen campaign, committing to fund two community kitchens in Embu Country.

L.T. Pagarani, Chairman of Choithrams Group, said: “At Choithrams, the Full of Goodness promise is our North Star. For over 50 years, it has guided our journey, directing our investments toward alleviating malnutrition among vulnerable communities and contributing directly to the Sustainable Development Goals. We have consistently supported initiatives that can be scaled, are sustainable, and deliver enduring impact. Our partnership with Dubai Cares, going back to its inception in 2007, is a testament to our commitment. It is a collaboration built on the shared belief that education is the simplest and strongest way to change a child’s life.

In the true spirit of giving this Ramadan, we are investing in sustainable school‑meals programs. By laying the foundation for long‑term, community‑led impact projects, we are ensuring that children receive the nutrition they need to learn and thrive. We are pleased that the ‘Feed a Child, Build a Kitchen’ program supports families, farmers, and local livelihoods.”

How you can support the campaign

During a month defined by generosity and compassion, Dubai Cares is inviting individuals, families, and organizations across the UAE to support the campaign in ways that are meaningful to them. Supporters can make online donations through the campaign website, set up their own crowdfunding campaigns on Dubai Cares’ fully licensed fundraising platform to rally friends and family, or contribute via SMS donations, cheque, or bank transfer. Organizations can also partner with Dubai Cares through corporate and workplace giving initiatives, turning collective generosity into lasting impact.

 One community kitchen can provide 76,000 meals a year, create 164 jobs, and support 5,000 farmers