The Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Protection (MoGCSP) has begun the distribution of food items to caterers under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) across the country.

The items include rice (50kg), cooking oil (25 litres), tin tomatoes and texturised soy protein (TSP), which are all sourced from local farmers and processed by local companies.

The caterers will no longer have to contract loans from the banks to pre-finance the cooking. They will now receive the food items on credit from GSFP and pay back only when the government pays them. 

The distribution, which began on Wednesday, 15 January 2020 in some regions, was as a result of an agreement the ministry reached with the National Buffer Stock Company Limited for the supply of these items.

According to the Minister, Mrs Cynthia Mamle Morrison, the food supply is ultimately meant to bring relief to the caterers so they do not have to shoulder the financial burden involved in pre-financing or procuring food items for the preparation of meals for the schoolchildren.

She said the caterers, hitherto, used to procure food items by themselves from different suppliers and markets at different prices, which accounted for over 80% of their total income.

The minister expressed her profound appreciation to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Chief Executive Officer of the National Buffer Stock Company Limited, Mr Abdul-Wahab Hanan Aludiba, for making the initiative a reality.

A statement issued by the ministry, dated 14 January 2020, requested all the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to offer the needed cooperation for the smooth implementation of the initiative.

Ms Morrison noted that the distribution of the locally-produced food items to the caterers is not only to prepare wholesome foods for the schoolchildren, but to fulfill the NPP’s manifesto promise of encouraging the consumption of locally-produced food, creating jobs for women in the local communities, boosting agricultural production, reducing poverty among local farmers, and increasing income at the district level among others.

She was upbeat about the potential of the distribution of the food items to increase school enrolment and retention; and to ultimately meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

The minister expressed optimism that it will also eliminate the inconsistencies in cooking on school days by some caterers due to insufficient funds and sometimes shortage of food items.

“With this initiative, all that the caterers need to do is to just buy a few local ingredients and they are good to go to the kitchen satisfactorily,” the minister emphasised.

The minister was confident that tfood supply will be sustainable, as a result of the government’s Planting for Food and Jobs initiative and the high agricultural productivity by smallholder farmers in the districts.

The minister disclosed that she would personally join forces with the management of the Ghana School Feeding Programme to monitor the distribution of the items to ensure the caterers do not abuse the opportunity by selling the food items for personal benefit.