Benefits of electric cooking in schools

By Dr Yesmeen Khalifa (Loughborough University) & Prof. Matthew Leach (Gamos Ltd.).

Providing sustainable school meals in low-income and lower-middle income countries (LLMICs) remains a challenge due to limited infrastructure and the reliance on polluting cooking fuels such as firewood and charcoal. To address this gap, MECS participated in a special issue on planet-friendly school meals. The series follows from the “School Meals and Food Systems: Rethinking the consequences for climate, environment, biodiversity, and food sovereignty” white paper published by the Research Consortium for School Health and Nutrition in December 2023. MECS published a Personal View that explores the role of electric cooking in providing sustainable school meals in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). The paper assesses the challenges and opportunities for shifting from traditional fuels to energy efficient electric cooking (eCooking) solutions in schools.

Globally, school meal programmes serve more than 418 million children, yet many schools in LLMICs, face massive challenges due to the lack of basic services such as access to clean water, electricity and kitchens, which are key for delivering sustainable school meals. Additionally, schools in these regions mostly rely on polluting fuels for cooking school meals, causing massive environmental, economic, health and social impacts. Women and children suffer the most due to the exposure to harmful smoke from polluting fuels as well as time spent on collecting firewood, exacerbating gender inequalities (WHO 2024). Given the increasing availability of electricity and large energy efficient eCooking solutions in LLMICs, eCooking could become a viable alternative to reduce the impacts of traditional cooking fuels.

Previous studies mainly focus on the health and nutritional value of school meals, disregarding the energy used for preparing or cooking these meals. Similarly, studies that explore the importance of electricity access in schools usually focus on the benefits for educational outcomes without considering the energy required for cooking and preparing school meals. Furthermore, evidence on eCooking transitions in institutional settings (such as schools and hospitals) is limited, despite, the growing evidence on the potential of eCooking transitions at household level. Therefore, the aim of this article was to address this gap by examining the potential opportunities for shifting from traditional cooking fuels to eCooking for delivering sustainable school meals in LLMICs.

The paper assessed four case studies from Kenya, Lesotho, Guinea and Nepal to better understand how eCooking could contribute to delivering sustainable school meals and reduce the environmental, economic, health and gender impacts of traditional cooking fuels (see Table 1). It also examined the contextual characteristics that influence the success of an intervention and how to tailor context-based interventions to achieve the intended outcomes. The selected case studies were drawn from projects conducted by the World Food Programme (WFP), SNV Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV), Energising Development (EnDev), and Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS), which play a key role in testing the possibility of shifting to eCooking for delivering school meal programmes in LLMICs.

Following the introduction of energy efficient eCooking solutions (EPCs and induction stoves) powered by various electricity sources (grid, grid tied hybrid solar photovoltaic system and battery storage, standalone solar photovoltaic system and solar mini grid), successful transitions to eCooking were evident across. The results of the study reveal that eCooking transitions are feasible and the transition could lead to a range of sustainability impacts.

Economic impacts

Cost reductions were reported in schools that previously purchased their baseline cooking fuel. Savings varied depending on the daily cooking energy consumption. Energy consumption was affected by multiple variables, such as the number of meals and dishes cooked, behavioural dynamics, and the appliances, cooking process, and proportion of different cooking fuels used. In Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya, eCooking reduced cooking fuel costs by around 26% compared to improved cookstoves. In Lesotho, fuel cost savings were 27–69% compared with LPG and by 85% for three-stone fires. In Nepal, Indrayani Secondary School replaced LPG entirely with eCooking, resulting in 100% fuel cost savings when using the school’s solar photovoltaic generated electricity. The use of eCooking led to higher fuel costs in cases where firewood was collected free of charge, but the use of eCooking reduced carbon emissions and could potentially raise revenue for these schools in the future through a carbon financing scheme. Economic benefits extended beyond reduced fuel costs, including lower medical costs due to health benefits and reduced time spent collecting firewood. In Nepal, training for repair and maintenance of eCooking appliances created new income opportunities, and surplus solar power supported local circular economies. For example, Indrayani Secondary School used surplus solar power to irrigate the school garden, providing food for school meals. In Guinea, additional solar photovoltaic capacity was used to charge telephones and power refrigerators, leading to economic benefits of reducing food waste.

Health and environmental impacts

Shifting from traditional cooking to eCooking brought significant health and environmental benefits across the case studies. In Kakuma, cooks experienced less eye irritation and heat exposure, while in Nepal, the transition reduced smoke-related health issues and the burden of fuel collection, which primarily affected women and children. In Lesotho, the shift from LPG to EPCs saved schools approximately $0.0037 per student per day in environmental costs (based on the International Monetary Fund’s methods), with further savings in cases where firewood was the baseline fuel. More reductions in greenhouse gases are possible if electricity supply is sourced from renewables, emphasizing the importance of integrating eCooking in the energy planning for schools, to maximize the environmental impacts.

Time savings and social impacts

Time savings were substantial, specifically in schools that previously collected firewood. For example, in Nepal, where gathering firewood took around 4-5 hours, eCooking reduced this time. However, in some cases, cooks reported longer cooking times due to the need to prepare food in batches, resulting from the size limitations of eCooking solutions deployed. This suggests that larger EPCs or additional induction stoves could help reduce cooking times. In Kenya and Lesotho, the automation feature of EPCs allowed multitasking, enabling teachers who are involved in school meal preparation to spend more time in class instead of monitoring the open flame firewood stoves. Additionally, cooks found EPCs easier and quicker to clean compared to traditional cooking pots. From a gender perspective, these benefits are important as firewood collection in most of the case studies was undertaken by women and children, as well as most cooks being female. This highlights how eCooking could reduce gender inequalities and save time spent on unpaid work.

The findings of the four case studies (Kenya, Lesotho, Guinea and Nepal) show the potential of eCooking in delivering sustainable school meals while also highlighting the unique challenges of each context. Careful consideration of local characteristics such as energy access, school infrastructure, eCooking compatibility with school menus, the number of students, and the availability of appropriately sized eCooking equipment, are key for sustainable eCooking transition. Moreover, actively engaging school cooks, understanding their needs and cooking practices, providing suitable eCooking solutions, and training school cooks on how to use eCooking are essential for effective implementation of such interventions as well as maximising gender benefits. Integrating eCooking into electrification planning ensures that energy systems are designed to meet the increased demand of eCooking, supporting long-term success.

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Featured image copyright: Jacob Fodio Todd.