Children’s Day is often marked with celebrations, gifts, and fun-filled activities. This year, however, Project Foodshare, coordinated by dedicated Lagos Food Bank volunteer Nnennaya Fakoya-Smith, transformed the occasion into a powerful lesson in compassion, gratitude, and service.

In partnership with Pampers Private School and Rainbow College, Project Foodshare joined hands with the Lagos Food Bank Initiative to provide nutritious meals for children through the Education Enhancement Intervention for Food Insecure Students (EDUFOOD) the school feeding program, demonstrating that the greatest gift to a child is the opportunity to care for another.

The day began at the Lagos Food Bank warehouse on Thursday, June 25, 2026, where students and representatives from both schools arrived with donations of raw food items. They were warmly welcomed by the Lagos Food Bank team and volunteers before embarking on a guided tour of the warehouse. The visit gave the students firsthand insight into the organization’s mission of fighting hunger and reducing food waste while serving vulnerable communities across Lagos.

Following the tour, the students became active participants in the day’s outreach. They unveiled and affixed Project Foodshare stickers to the meal packs before joining volunteers to carefully dish the freshly prepared meals into food packs. Together, they packed the meals into crates and loaded them into waiting vehicles, preparing for the journey to the beneficiary school.

Before departing, participants received an overview of the EDUFOOD School Feeding Programme and were introduced to Nnennaya Fakoya-Smith, whose commitment to the cause continues to inspire. Having previously partnered with the Lagos Food Bank in 2024 and 2025, Nnennaya shared the story behind Project Foodshare.

She explained that the initiative began as a research project with a simple goal: giving back to the community. Inspired by her own experience with food insecurity, what started as an academic project soon became a deeply personal mission to ensure that no child has to learn on an empty stomach.

Speaking to the students, she emphasized that the outreach was about much more than distributing meals. It was an opportunity to expose privileged children to the realities faced by many of their peers in underserved communities, encouraging them to cultivate gratitude, reduce food waste, and embrace a lifelong commitment to compassion and community service.

With the briefing concluded, the convoy made its way to the beneficiary school, where the children welcomed the team with excitement and warm smiles. After introductions and a brief explanation of the purpose of the visit, the nutritious meals were distributed to the pupils, bringing joy, nourishment, and hope to every child served.

The outreach also provided an opportunity to recognize and appreciate the dedication of the teachers, whose daily commitment continues to shape the lives and futures of the children in their care.

The collaboration between Project Foodshare, Pampers Private School, Rainbow College, and the Lagos Food Bank Initiative is a powerful reminder that addressing hunger requires collective action. By engaging young people in meaningful acts of service, this initiative not only filled empty stomachs but also planted seeds of empathy, responsibility, and generosity in the next generation.

Through partnerships like these, the Lagos Food Bank Initiative continues to demonstrate that every meal shared has the power to nourish a child, inspire a community, and create lasting change.