The queue at the ETCO office stretched further than usual — more sandals in the dust, more voices overlapping, more empty bowls waiting. Schools had shut for a two-month holiday, and the children’s feeding programme suddenly carried the weight of long empty mornings.
That surge is both encouragement and pressure. It says families trust the space; it also means pots must stretch and shopping lists grow when household budgets are already tight. ETCO serves not only children — youth and elders also find a plate here — so a spike in numbers touches every part of the kitchen plan.
Volunteers notice it in the arithmetic: more cups, more firewood, more trips to the tap, more voices asking politely if seconds are possible. We do not turn people away lightly — we adjust, we borrow recipes that stretch, we phone a donor who once said “call when it spikes.” But honesty matters: a long holiday without school meals shifts hunger from the classroom to the lane.
Holiday hunger is quiet. It does not arrive with headlines. It arrives when a guardian calculates whether today’s KSh can cover ugali and greens, or whether the children will eat plain tea and sleep hungry.
If you are looking for a practical way to help through the break, fund a sack of maize, send vegetables, or walk with us on a Saturday. The line is longer; the commitment has to match.
We will keep posting what we need week to week — sometimes cooking oil, sometimes beans, sometimes cash for transport. Holiday months test every kitchen; help us keep the pot honest.
