$45M breakfast programme for Regions 5, 6

DPI, Guyana, Friday, July 5, 2019

In the new school term, nursery and primary school students in Regions 5 and 6 will benefit from breakfast under the National School Feeding Programme at the total cost of $45M.

At his July 4, post-Cabinet press briefing, Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon explained that $17M was awarded to Glenda’s Catering Service and $12M to Tee Zee Food Service to supply the breakfast for students in Region 5. While in Region 6, $13M was awarded to Green Apple and over $3M to Sharron Davis.

The morning meal will be provided to all nursery schools students and Grades One and Two pupils at the primary level. The breakfast will comprise cereal, eggs, peanut butter and cheese sandwiches, mixed vegetables and a glass of Milo-flavoured milk with other nutritional elements.

The National School Feeding Programme, which commenced in 2006, initially catered for 165 schools from Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9 and benefits approximately 22,475 students.

In 2016, the Breakfast Programme was piloted in Georgetown and the East Coast in Regions 4 and 3 catering to students at the nursery and primary levels.

The objectives of the school feeding programme include building more community participation in schools and improving children’s human development outcomes, such as student enrollment and attendance, nutritional status and learning outcomes. Consequently, the programme has tackled unemployment and underemployment.

Image: Giovanni Gajie