Food Secured Schools Africa (FSSA)

How the project works

Food Secured Schools Africa (FSSA) works across Ethiopia to convert underutilized school land into productive organic gardens, directly tackling the chronic malnutrition that affects millions of Ethiopian children. Schools plant a diverse mix of fast-growing vegetables and fruit trees that provide fresh, nutritious food directly to school meal programs - improving student health, concentration, and school attendance.

Each school garden is designed as a community asset. Parent cooperatives are trained to manage planting cycles, composting, water management, and harvest - generating income through surplus produce sales that fund school improvements and community programs. The gardens also serve as outdoor classrooms where students learn environmental science, nutrition, and agricultural skills from an early age.

By embedding food production within school communities, FSSA creates a self-sustaining model that grows stronger over time. As students graduate and return to their family farms, they carry practical agroecological knowledge that improves household food security across entire villages. The fruit trees planted provide decades of ongoing nutrition while simultaneously sequestering carbon and supporting soil biodiversity.