Mary's Meals UK

What Mary's Meals UK does

Mary's Meals UK is a charitable organisation registered in Scotland (Charity No. SC022140, Company Limited by Guarantee No. SC265941) that funds and supports school feeding programmes for children living in poverty across 16 of the world's poorest countries, including Malawi, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Syria, Yemen, Zambia, Benin, and Ecuador. Founded in 2002 by Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow after a visit to Malawi during a famine, the organisation now reaches more than three million children every school day. Its core product is the School Meals Programme, in which locally sourced ingredients (typically vitamin-enriched maize or rice porridge with beans) are prepared and served by community volunteers at schools, providing nutrition that drives school attendance and educational outcomes. Operations are delivered through a network of in-country implementation partners such as Mary Help Association (South Sudan), ORAP and Mavambo Orphan Care (Zimbabwe), BREAD (India), Summits Education (Haiti), MSLI (Mozambique), Dorcas (Lebanon), Money for Madagascar, and Grandir Dignement (Madagascar).

The portfolio of donor-facing products includes the Feed A School programme (corporate and group fundraising for an entire school year), the Promise Pledgers monthly giving programme (with more than 15,000 regular givers), Payroll Giving via CAF Give As You Earn, and recurring fundraising campaigns such as World Porridge Day (10 October), Step By Step charity walks, and Pocket Money for Porridge. Engagement products include the Mary's Meals Schools Award for UK secondary schools (Bronze/Silver/Gold tiers) and free Children's Learning Resources linked to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Pricing is published transparently at £19.15 per child per school year, equivalent to 10p per meal.

Mary's Meals UK is one affiliate in the international Mary's Meals network; it operates from a registered office at Craig Lodge, Dalmally, Argyll, and a main UK office at the Claremont Centre in Glasgow. Income is generated through individual one-time and recurring donations, corporate CSR/ESG partnerships (Artemis Charitable Foundation, Tilda Foodservice, Dell Technologies, Scott Dunn, BPL Global, Impact Foods, tcc Foundation, Lords Group Foundation), payroll giving, school fundraising, and event-driven campaigns. The 2026 match-funding initiative doubles the first three payments of any new regular monthly gift up to £250,000, underscoring the strategic priority of scaling the recurring donor base.

Name

Mary's Meals UK

Legal name

Mary's Meals

Website

https://marysmeals.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Mary's Meals UK is a Scottish-registered charity founded in 2002 that funds daily school meals for more than three million children across 16 of the world's poorest countries, financed through individual donations, corporate partnerships, payroll giving, and community fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Dalmally

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and regular donations from individual supporters. Regular giving programme (Promise Pledgers) provides predictable income. In 2026, new regular gifts are doubled for first three payments by a generous donor up to £250,000.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Companies partner for CSR/ESG goals through financial contributions, staff fundraising, cause-based marketing, payroll giving, and pro-bono work. Partners include Artemis Charitable Foundation, Tilda Foodservice, Dell Technologies, Scott Dunn, and others.
3. Payroll Giving: UK employees donate through employer's payroll system before tax. Mary's Meals partners with CAF Give As You Earn. Employers can match donations.
4. Fundraising Events: Supporters raise funds through events like Step By Step charity walks, World Porridge Day, and school fundraising campaigns.
5. School Fundraising: Schools participate through Pocket Money for Porridge (10p per meal), World Porridge Day celebrations, and the Mary's Meals Schools Award programme with Bronze/Silver/Gold levels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Mary's Meals UK is a registered Scottish charity (SC022140) and company limited by guarantee (SC265941) that funds and coordinates the daily provision of school meals to more than 3 million chronically poor children across 16 countries. Donations from UK individuals, schools, workplaces, and corporate partners are converted into a tangible product — a daily meal — at a published unit cost of 10p per meal, equivalent to £19.15 per child per school year. The organisation supports this delivery through donor-facing programmes such as Feed A School, regular giving, payroll giving, the Mary's Meals Schools Award, and corporate partnerships.

Product overview

Mary's Meals UK is a charitable organisation offering a school feeding programme as its core product, providing nutritious daily meals to over 3 million children across 16 countries. The portfolio includes donation programmes (Feed A School, Promise Pledgers monthly giving, Payroll Giving), educational initiatives (Schools Award, Children's Learning Resources), corporate partnership engagement, and seasonal fundraising campaigns (World Porridge Day, Pocket Money for Porridge). The model is built on community volunteer participation and low-cost operations (£19.15 per child per school year).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mary's Meals School Feeding Programme A daily school meal provided to chronically poor children in 16 countries, using in-country partner organisations and local volunteer cooks to deliver meals in school settings.
• Feed A School A targeted donation programme allowing donors to directly fund the school meals of an entire school community for a school year, at £19.15 per child.
• Promise Pledgers (Regular Giving) A monthly direct-debit regular giving programme for UK supporters, providing predictable, recurring income to fund the daily school meal programme.
• Payroll Giving (Give As You Earn) A workplace giving product allowing UK employees to donate pre-tax to Mary's Meals UK directly from their salary via the Give As You Earn scheme administered by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).
• Mary's Meals Schools Award A free three-stage structured programme for UK secondary schools covering RE, citizenship, geography, and PSD, supporting curriculum-linked learning, pupil-led fundraising, and assemblies.
• Corporate Partnership Programme A structured partnership package for UK businesses and groups providing CSR, marketing, employee engagement, and fundraising opportunities linked to Mary's Meals UK.
• World Porridge Day An annual UK fundraising day on which schools, workplaces, and community groups host porridge-themed events to raise funds for the school meals programme.
• Pocket Money for Porridge A fundraising campaign encouraging families and children to donate their pocket money or give up their weekly porridge allowance to fund children's school meals overseas.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 3 million children receive daily school meals
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mavambo Orphan CarecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partner in Zimbabwe working in Epworth District in Harare and Mashonaland East Region.
• ORAP (Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership in Zimbabwe since 2022, providing daily meals to over 54,000 children in over 160 schools in Matabeleland North Province.
• Mary Help AssociationcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2008Local partner organisation in South Sudan that implements the school feeding programme in Rumbek area, serving over 85,000 children every school day.
• Money for MadagascarcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity empowering children and families in Madagascar, improving educational outcomes in rural areas including Itasy region and Antananarivo.
• Grandir DignementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Madagascar reaching vulnerable children in detention centres with educational support and meals.
• BREADcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing local partner in India serving over 71,000 children across schools and informal education centres.
• Summits EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Haiti operating Ecole Communautaire Saint Michel de Morne Mouton and distributing meals to 17 schools and community centres in Aleppo.
• Mozambique School Lunch Initiative (MSLI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmall local organisation helping implement the new Mozambique programme in Mabalane District, reaching over 5,000 children since June.
• DorcascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Lebanon through Tabitha Community Center in Batroun, coordinating children and volunteers for meal distribution.
• CAF Give As You EarncoreTechnology or IntegrationUK's largest payroll giving agency used by Mary's Meals for processing workplace donations before tax.
• Artemis Charitable FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner for 13 years, supporting Mary's Meals school feeding programmes and enabling employee engagement.
• Tilda FoodservicecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner for over four years supporting Mary's Meals through foodservice colleague engagement.
• Dell TechnologiesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner with international presence supporting Mary's Meals.
• Scott DunnminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting Mary's Meals.
• BPL GlobalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner listed on partnership page.
• Impact FoodsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting Mary's Meals.
• tcc FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate foundation partner supporting Mary's Meals.
• Lords Group FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate foundation partner supporting Mary's Meals.
• Inner WheelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUK women's organisation supporting Pocket Money for Porridge campaign.
• JustGivingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party fundraising platform for online donations and campaign fundraising pages.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/MarysMealsTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/MarysMealsUKcharity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marysmealsuk
• Instagraminstagram.com/marysmealsukcharity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mary's Meals UK