Caterers who are cooking for the Ghanaian basic schools under the School Feeding Programme have called on government to increase the grant per child from GH₵1.00 to GH₵3.00.
The caterers have cited recent hike in prices of ingredients used in preparing the food for the pupils as well as describing the GH₵1.00 per child as woefully inadequate.
They therefore threatened to discontinue with the programme if government fails to take steps to address their concerns.
The caterers who grouped themselves under the umbrella name ‘Touch one Touch all’, have expressed disappointment in the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sarah Adwoa Safo, for failure to address the issue when they first raised it.
Meanwhile, in July 21, 2021, Madam Sarah Adwoa Safo, has promised to solve all issues relating to the Ghana National School Feeding Programme (GNSFP) for its smooth operation.
This was after the association presented a petition to her detailing challenges ranging from corruption, inadequacy of the grant per child among others.
She assured them of the Ministry’s commitment to ensure the smooth running of the Programme as one of the government’s flagship programmes, designed to reduce poverty and tackle food insecurity issues, especially in the poorest areas of the country.
She was reported to have said “Since I came into office, the School Feeding Programme has been at the heart of my agenda. I can assure you that we are working assiduously to ensure that caterers are paid on time and that we resolve all issues which affect the smooth running of the programme”.
But barely a month after those promises, nothing seems to have been done, resulting into the threat by the ‘touch one touch all’ group.
They have thus asked the minister to put meanings to her promise in ensuring that “we don’t abandon the programmme”.
