Food is Fuel for our Girls, but Inflation is Biting

From the start, an important component of Girls Gotta Run has been nourishment for our Athletic Scholars. In the early days of the organization, we provided food along with running shoes. During Covid-19, even as schools were closed, we provided meals for our participants and their families. Food insecurity is an ongoing problem for the Girls Gotta Run participants and their families, and we have worked to address this.

Currently, Food is one of the largest components of our budget in Ethiopia - nearly one-third of total spending, in fact. We provide snacks for our runners (bananas, cookies or barley drink, usually) and a healthy lunch 6 days per week for all of our Athletic Scholars in both locations, about 120 girls total. Unlike in the US, schools do not have cafeterias -- students either bring a lunch or go home during the 1.5 hour lunch break, but neither of these is a viable option for many girls. Some walk one hour or more each way and many families simply do not have food.

The photos above and below are lunches made by local women specifically for Girls Gotta Run participants with funding we provide. But inflation is a huge issue in Ethiopia, and we have heard from our Program Managers in both Soddo and Bekoji that funds simply do not stretch as far -- the budget for 15 days' worth of barley now only buys ten days' supply.

We will continue to work with our Ethiopian staff and partners to provide the nourishment so essential to the learning, growing, running girls and young women that we serve, even as it means more money is needed to do so. We hope we can count on your ongoing help as well!