A school feeding programme in St Helena Bay has been up to some good with an initiative that not only feeds the children but the futures of volunteers behind the meals!
St Helena Bay, South Africa (30 August 2023) — As graduation ceremonies go it was a small affair, but for the ten previously unemployed St Helena Bay women graduating as qualified food handlers and the children whose lives they impact, it was a big deal.
Their achievement is a celebration part of a pioneering project at HP Williams Primary School, which seeks to make school feeding more than a meal.
For many of the children school meals are the main source of nutrition. Typically, though, to stretch resources, most feeding programmes only provide meals for those who need them the most.
“While this is entirely logical from a resource-management perspective, the problem is that children who accept the meals get stigmatised. When this happens, some children would rather go hungry than be teased and this makes the feeding programme less effective,” explains Petrina Pakoe, director of the Peninsula School Feeding Association.
To overcome this problem, the Peninsula School Feeding Association and Oceana teamed up to find the most impactful shift.
Instead of providing meals to only the most needy children, the decision became one where every child gets a healthy, nutritious, tasty meal, every day, prepared by previously unemployed women in the community—the food handler graduates!
They graduated through the YES Genesis Hub Culinary Academy, which means they’re not only able to provide food for the children with skilled hands but can feed the volunteers’ futures with their new qualifications.
Bonus: the school stigma leaves the plate.
Not to mention, the students also got a spacious dining area with tables and chairs, as well as a fully equipped, containerised kitchen.
The project was such a success that it is set to be replicated in two other West Coast schools!
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