Mary’s Meals marks World Porridge Day

Mary’s Meals observes World Porridge Day on October 10, an annual event the Scotland-based charity established in 2009 to raise funds and highlight the importance of school breakfasts. The organization provides daily meals to more than 3 million children across 16 countries.

The charity uses a low-cost model where a single meal costs approximately 11 to 13 cents, and roughly $22 to $25 can feed one child for an entire school year. To support local economies, the organization procures food locally whenever possible. In Malawi, the meals consist of a corn and soya blend fortified with vitamins and minerals known as likuni phala.

Mary’s Meals, which was founded by Catholics but is not an official Catholic organization, uses these meals to encourage school attendance. The charity notes that approximately 78 million primary-school-aged children are out of school worldwide, and the guarantee of a meal serves as a vital safety net that brings children to the classroom.