Liberia

Supporting learners from vulnerable communities with school meals in Liberia

Mary’s Meals is serving more than 95,000 primary school children in Liberia

Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking 177 out of 193 countries and territories in the Human Development Index (HDI).

Nearly 70% of the Liberian workforce relies on agriculture to make a living and it is a vital sector for reducing hunger and poverty. However, several factors hinder Liberia’s agricultural progress, such outdated farming methods or machinery, inadequate storage facilities, and limited access to markets.

Our school feeding programme is providing a social safety net for families concerned with meeting the nutritional needs of their children, across five counties: Bong, Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, and Montserrado. Many of the schools are in remote, hard-to-reach locations – deep in the jungle and only accessible by dirt roads. Despite inevitable logistical challenges, the Mary’s Meal Liberia team is committed to reaching these children in remote communities and continues to successfully deliver a consistent and efficient programme in over 600 schools.

News and Stories from Liberia

RISE, a new film by Mary’s Meals: How a stubborn priest went from burying 300 starving children in Liberia to feeding 95,000 every day at school

Providing consistent daily meals for schoolchildren since 2006, global charity Mary’s Meals is known in Liberia as “the one who never stopped” – never interrupting its school feeding delivery in 20 years. A new documentary tells the unlikely story of Mary’s Meals in Liberia, beyond war, Ebola and trauma.

20 years of non-stop school meals in Liberia: Mary’s Meals’ generational impact beyond war, Ebola, and trauma

The need for Mary's Meals in Liberia

Father Garry Jenkins is central to Mary’s Meals’ story in Liberia. He moved there in 1973, and established St Dominic’s Catholic School and a church in Bomi County, northwest of the capital Monrovia. But as the country fell into two devastating civil wars, he explains why he reached out to Mary’s Meals founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow for help.

The impact of Mary’s Meals in 2025

Our school meals not only help to alleviate children’s immediate hunger – they also continue to
improve their education and health, provide a safety net for families experiencing vulnerability,
support community cohesion, and strengthen local food systems.

Support our work

Your donations enables us to provide life-changing school meals to children living in Liberia and beyond.

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Explore our work in other countries

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Where we work

Mary's Meals works in countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters and the dedication of many thousands of volunteers around the world, we are successfully feeding more than 2.6 million children every school day.