Earlier this year, the now late Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Roger Clarke disclosed during his contribution to the 2014/15 Budget Debate that the Government was moving to align the needs of the School Feeding Programme to the production in the seven agro-parks across the island. He noted that this was a part of measures to include more locally produced food in the School Feeding Programme.
On Tuesday, September 9 acting Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Derrick Kellier announced at the recent launch of the Government’s Inter-Ministerial Integrated School Feeding Programme at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) that through support provided by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Nutrition Products Limited (NPL), the company responsible for the School Feeding Programme has expanded its provisions to include more nutritious, locally produced items. Linkages has been made with suppliers of banana and carrot to source raw material for the production of snacks such as muffins, cakes, and scones, to complement the traditional bullas and rock cakes.
The School Feeding Programme seeks to increase the nutritional levels of the country’s children, to improve regular school attendance along with enhancing the learning capacity of students and enhance the livelihood of Jamaican farmers.
diG Deeper
School Feeding Unit – Ministry of Education
