Efforts underway to improve school feeding programme, encourage use of local foods   

In a joint effort, the Ministry of Education and the World Food Programme (WFP) on Wednesday conducted a scoping mission at the Sparta Primary School in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaanm).

Led by the Regional Director for the government’s school feeding programme, Wentworth Tanner and WFP Programme Policy Officer, Gregory Munene, the mission is expected to assess the current programme and address challenges.

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

The mission was keen to encourage, as far as possible, the sourcing of ingredients locally in a bid to boost the local economy through partnerships between local suppliers and the various school feeding management committees.

The team is also seeking to identify gaps and opportunities to improve the ongoing programme and enhance its overall quality.

As part of the mission, the team will be visiting several schools across the region to assess the situation and develop strategies to address any challenges.

The joint effort between the Ministry of Education and the WFP is a significant step towards ensuring that school feeding programmes are sustainable and of high quality. (By Avishkar Deonarine)