Deputy Director of Agriculture Services, Barry Innocent says the Program has provided many benefits to children, parents, farmers, the community and the economy as a whole through the strengthened collaboration of key public and private sector agencies, farmers and with communities in which the School Feeding Program is administered

“ This collaboration has taken place within the framework of policies that exist to enhance food and nutrition security, school gardens, school feeding programmes and to also encourage youth in agriculture. A comprehensive school feeding policy has been developed and approved by the cabinet, which among other things, highlights recommendations for improvements of the School Feeding Program including capacity building and institutional strengthening. A school Feeding committee comprising representatives from government, non-governmental and private sector agencies was established to provide oversight of activities within the school feeding policy and provide guidance on all matters related to school nutrition.”

The School Feeding Policy aims to ensure that every school child on the island is provided with nutritionally- balanced meals during school hours and while the priority of the Education Ministry is to nurture the intellect of students, this renewed partnership between the ministries of Agriculture, Health and Education ensures that Government of Saint Lucia’s focus areas for youth development as it relates to their safety, security and well-being is placed into sharp focus under the work programs of the allied ministries.

“ Food security and nutrition security are very very critical aspect of national development. It is all well and good to have the infrastructure, it is all well and good for us to have thousands of visitors visiting the streets of castries, and venturing into the pocket communities to enjoy the scenery of Saint Lucia. That spells prosperity and economic growth and it ensures that there is dollar circulation to pay public servants but equally as important to those initiatives is the things that we take for granted. Our children being fed, but is it enough for them just to have a meal but what about the quality of the meal that we give, and that is critical. ”

 

Further reinforcement for the School Feeding program will come through the Ministry of Health’s support in the development menus and nutritional guidelines for children in Saint Lucia, and the promotion and expansion of school gardens and support mechanisms for small- holder farmers attached to the initiative.

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