2024 Free

Annual Impact Report 2024

Mary's Meals is a global movement that sets up school feeding programmes in some of the world's poorest communities, believing that every child deserves a daily meal in a place of education. In 2024, the charity served 362,943,000+ meals to 2.4 million+ children across 16 countries. Major expansions added 330,000 new children, including in post-conflict Tigray, Ethiopia and a new programme in Mozambique. Impact data consistently shows dramatic improvements in school attendance, concentration, participation and hunger reduction — with children reporting hunger during school days falling from 74% to 1% across established programmes.

Report snapshot
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About

Daily school meal programme delivered in partnership with local volunteers across 16 countries through 4 Programme Affiliates and 20 Programme Partners; expansion into post-conflict settings (Tigray, Ethiopia); new country partnership launched in Mozambique (Mabalane District, 5,000+ children, 30+ schools); research and impact evaluation across all programme countries

Key Metrics

Key Metric 1 2.4 million+ children receiving a daily school meal across 5,000+ places of education in 16 countries; 362,943,000+ meals served globally in 2024
Key Metric 2 330,000 additional children reached in 700+ new schools during 2024 expansions — including 140,000 in Zambia, 100,000 in Malawi and 60,000 in Tigray, Ethiopia following two years of conflict
Key Metric 3 Average monthly school attendance rate of 89%; meals served on 91% of school days; 50.3% of children receiving meals are girls

Key Outcomes

  • In Zambia expansion schools, teacher reports of children with good concentration levels rose from 37% to 100% after school feeding began; in Mozambique, children able to concentrate well in class rose from 42% to 100%
  • In post-conflict Tigray (Ethiopia), classroom described as peaceful rose from 20% to 100% of teachers after feeding began; children playing with friends at school at least once a week rose from 54% to 91%; children with an established daily routine rose from 77% to 98%
  • Across Programme Affiliates (Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Zambia): children feeling hungry before the meal dropped from 74% to 1%; children able to concentrate well rose from 35% to 98%; 100% of teachers reported the school feeding programme had a positive impact on quality of education

Geography

International

Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
438,000 pets treated across 49 Pet Hospitals, equivalent to 4,700 pets every working day
Key Metric 2
Over 2 million treatments provided; veterinary services cost over £85 million, funded entirely by donations
Key Metric 3
327,000 children reached with pet education messages; Pet Health Hub received over 4 million online visitors
Veterinary care provided to the pets of over 360,000 people in financial hardship across the UK, with 46% of clients disabled or living with a serious health condition
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
2.4 million benefits calculations completed via free Benefits Calculator
Key Metric 2
1.5 million people identified new benefits worth an average of £5,396 each (£12.9bn total)
Key Metric 3
£3 million in grants awarded, supporting 2,164 people across the UK
4.8 million people accessed the Turn2us website for information on claiming support they are entitled to
Impact Snapshot
Key Metric 1
7,325 individual children supported; 9,269 instances of support across the year; 6,660 referrals fulfilled; 485 emergency newborn hospital packs delivered to 23 London hospitals...
Key Metric 2
734 regular volunteers; 31,348 volunteer hours; 146 one-off volunteers (700+ hours); 99 corporate volunteer groups (3,900 hours)
Key Metric 3
Items gifted worth over £3 million (if new); 128 tonnes of goods redistributed; £22,714 in financial support secured or saved for families via signposting;...
Connections and signposting: Family Connections team spoke to 2,764 families; signposting support provided 1,037 times; 77% of signposting recipients had never accessed similar help before; £22,714 in financial support secured or saved