Time for Our Annual Food Purchase!

Each year in April, when the harvest is ready in Malawi, we purchase food for the next year for our children and school programs. This year we have $5000 left to reach our food goal, so we decided to add our new kitchen to the fundraising list!

The total cost for our annual food budget is approximately $18,000. We have $13,000 and need $5000 more to reach our goal. These funds will purchase all the corn and beans needed for our school program, orphanage, kids on scholarship for secondary school, university and vocational training, as well as our staff noon meal.

I recently interviewed our cooks about their work cooking for the children. They stated that the #1 most difficult part of their job was cooking over a smoky fire. They were concerned about damage to their lungs and have experienced asthma and other breathing difficulties caused by smoke inhalation.

We’ve decided to change our cooking method and install electric cooking pots in our new kitchen. This is a HUGE upfront cost. Each pot costs $6000 and we are planning to put 3 or 4 of these very large pots in our new kitchen. I’m hoping to purchase 4 electric pots as that will be the most efficient for our staff to prepare breakfast and lunch in adequate amounts for 750 students.

If you are interested in giving towards this project, please visit our DONATE page!

These cooking pots hold 135 liters and are $6000 each. The larger size pot holds 225 liters and is $6750. We are hoping to purchase 4 of these pots.

We’ve gone through several designs for the kitchen and dining area. The most recent plan has both indoor and outdoor cooking areas (just in case the electricity is off, which it is sometimes). Another really exciting piece of switching to electric powered cooking pots is not purchasing as much firewood. It is very, very difficult to find firewood in Malawi these days as deforestation has removed almost all the old forests and not enough trees have been planted to make up for what is being lost.

Cooking over the fire is smoky and dangerous. We are eager to remove this danger for our kitchen staff and provide them with a safe, clean place to cook for our children.