World Porridge Day

10th October – every year

Join in this celebration of Scotland’s traditional national dish to help feed hungry children in some of the poorest countries across the globe.

The small Scottish Highland village of Carrbridge – home of the annual World Porridge Making Championships – has teamed up with the Scottish-based charity, Mary’s Meals to establish an international World Porridge Day.

We hope you will take part by joining porridge makers across the globe to help support the work of Mary’s Meals.

Mary’s Meals, which operates its international headquarters from a tin shed in the Argyll area of the Scottish Highlands, has one simple aim: To provide a daily meal in a place of education so chronically hungry children are encouraged into school, where they can gain a basic education that can provide an escape route from poverty.

Mary’s Meals works in 19 countries, providing daily meals for more than 1.6 million hungry children every day they attend school.

World Porridge Day aims to raise awareness of the role that porridge plays in Mary’s Meals in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe where a daily mug of maize-based porridge ‘likuni phala’ enables children to attend class and learn.

It costs just £13.90 to feed a child with Mary’s Meals for a whole school year.

You can help impoverished communities to build a better future by supporting Mary’s Meals on World Porridge Day. There are lots of ways to get involved. You can:

Countries where Mary’s Meals works

Mary’s Meals feeds 1,504,471 children every school day in 18 countries: Malawi, Liberia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Haiti, Kenya, India, South Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Benin, Lebanon, Syria, Myanmar, Thailand, Ecuador, Madagascar and Romania.

Throughout the world, hunger blocks poor children from gaining an education, which is their most likely escape route out of poverty. Mary’s Meals offers a simple solution to this problem by working with local communities to provide nutritious daily meals for children in school. Where children receive Mary’s Meals in their place of education, there is a rise in enrolment, attendance and academic performance.

For information on Mary’s Meals, please visit marysmeals.org.uk and to find out how you can get involved in World Porridge Day, please visit worldporridgeday.com.