school feeding projects
Breakfast Programme
Our concern for a long time has been that many of our children arrive at school hungry. However, because the preparation time for the cooked meals takes between 1 and 3 hours, depending on the number of learners fed and other factors, learners usually only eat by 10h00 or first interval.
In 2008, PSFA introduced a school breakfast pilot programme at 4 schools, to determine the acceptability, feasibility, logistics and costs. After initial feedback proved to be overwhelmingly positive, the programme was expanded to include 36 schools in 2009, carefully selected from the Department of Social Development's list of poverty stricken areas.
Children receive mealie meal when they arrive at school, and have the required energy to be able to concentrate for the duration of the day. The lunch meal is served either during first interval or second interval. The breakfast menu has been expanded to include 110 schools, with more to be added soon. The breakfast is sponsored entirely from PSFA funding. Organisations that would like to sponsor a school breakfast programme can contact our office for more information.
PSFA Kitchens
Many of the schools on our school feeding programme do not have adequate facilities to prepare food. Since the introduction of cooked meals 3 years ago, this became a huge concern as it compromises the safety of the volunteers and learners, and poses a serious hygiene risk. To this end, PSFA consulted with relevant organisations and individuals to devise a model of providing low cost food preparation facilities to schools. Using vibrecrete concrete slats and posts, this concept became a reality. PSFA has donated these units, from our own funds, to several schools, complete with plumbing, electricity, heat extraction and storage facilities. Companies that would like to sponsor a kitchen can call our office for more information.
Eastern Cape School Feeding Programme
Since the inception of the NSNP, the Eastern Cape has been fraught with corruption, poor administration and inefficiency. As a result, the school feeding programme has been interrupted several times, the school feeding intervention halted and the result is - our children are not fed.
The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces in the country with high incidences of nutrition-related diseases and deaths such as malnutrition, kwashiorkor and mirasmus. There are a number of schools that still do not receive a school feeding subsidy due to insufficient funds.
PSFA's Management Committee took a decision to provide school feeding to 5,100 learners in 9 schools during the 2009 school year in the Eastern Cape for one year, with the following objectives in mind:
- Assist the Department of Education where we can, to ensure the improvement of the school feeding programme
- Implement service delivery standards
- Provide training related to food preparation, menu compilation, hygiene etc
- Assist the Department of Education in introducing mechanisms and systems for monitoring and evaluation
Fresh Vegetable to Schools-Pilot
The current menus provide balanced nutrition and the children enjoy the meals prepared. Yet, we are always looking for cost effective ways to enhance the nutrition we provide to our children. One way that we have done this is through our partnership with Absolute Abundance, also a non profit organisation, where we provide fresh, good quality vegetables to selected schools.
The vegetables contribute to added nutrition, as they supplement the cooked meals. Partnership with non profit organisations like Absolute Abundance is essential, because we do not believe that we can address the scourge of hunger on our own. Absolute Abundance sources funding for the provision of the vegetables, while PSFA covers the transport cost to deliver the vegetables to the schools. The recipient schools are grateful for the potatoes, butternut, sweet potato and other vegetables in season delivered to them.
