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Gerard Butler-backed charity has served 260m meals, feeds 95,000 children daily

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Mary’s Meals now feeds over 95,000 children every school day across Bong, Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, Gbarpolu, and Montserrado counties using staple foods like rice and peas. The operation frequently overcomes difficult logistics and impassable roads during the rainy season by procuring local food supplies or ordering bulk provisions far in advance. Actor Gerard Butler has significantly amplified global awareness for the mission since presenting a CNN Heroes award to founder Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow in 2010.

Key points

  • Providing daily school meals serves as a proven tool to alleviate hunger while boosting e…: Providing daily school meals serves as a proven tool to alleviate hunger while boosting educational attendance in post-conflict regions.
  • Community volunteers play an indispensable role in preparing and serving locally sourced…: Community volunteers play an indispensable role in preparing and serving locally sourced food despite severe seasonal transport challenges.
  • Long-term high-profile celebrity advocacy has successfully sustained global awareness and…: Long-term high-profile celebrity advocacy has successfully sustained global awareness and funding for ongoing international relief operations.

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When actor

Gerard Butler travelled to Liberia in 2013 to meet children and communities supported by a charity he champions, the visit offered a glimpse into how a daily school meal could make a difference in a country recovering from years of conflict. Thirteen years later, that effort has grown into a long-running school feeding programme that has delivered more than 260 million meals to children across Liberia.

According to Mary’s Meals, which marked 20 years of its school feeding programme in Liberia in October 2026, more than 95,000 children now receive meals through the charity every school day. The organisation began providing school meals in the country in 2006, building on earlier emergency relief work during and after Liberia’s civil war. Butler, a long-time supporter of the charity, has helped raise awareness of its work through visits to communities in Liberia and Haiti.

How a request for food led to a school feeding programme

Mary’s Meals’ work in Liberia has roots in the humanitarian response to the country’s civil war. The conflict devastated communities, damaged schools and left many…

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