Steamed pumpkin with rice and beef stew was the first meal served from the brand new mobile kitchen to pupils at Tlakukani Primary School in Mamelodi, Pretoria, on Friday.
Neighbouring Mveledzo Primary School also received its own kitchen.
The shipping container converted into a fully-equipped kitchen is one of the 253 mobile kitchens Game is donating to schools across the country.
The kitchen is fitted with a storage room, sink, gas cylinders and gas stoves where fresh meals are prepared.
The donation is the result of a partnership between the Basic Education Department and Game under the “Amalunch box” campaign and the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP). These kitchens play an integral role in supporting and strengthening the delivery of the programme.
Through the NSNP, a healthy and nutritious meal is served to more than nine million learners at schools across the country daily.
Thanking Game for the donation, Tlakukani Primary School Principal Ruth Mashaba said the donation is proof that it takes a village to raise a child.
“Imagine when a child comes to school without anything to eat. It means that there will be no proper education. It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. What you [Game] did today is to uplift the standard of the country,” Mashaba said.
NSNP Chief Education Specialist, Lucas Makena, said through private-public partnerships such as this, government and business are sowing the seeds for the future.
“It is not every day that a business in South Africa opens its arms and says it wants to contribute to the development of education in this country and when that time comes, we need to celebrate. We hope that this is the beginning, and Game is leading that charge,” said Makena.
Addressing the school, Game Store Operations Manager Duval Van Rhyn said the kitchens are an investment in the future of the country.
“At Game, we have one purpose and that is to create a better life for all. We put kitchens in the school because we know that education is important not only for the community but it is also important for the country,” said Van Rhyn.
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