Johannesburg - The uMngeni Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal has allocated R70 000 to support emergency situations with the school nutrition programme.
This comes after learners in KZN went hungry on their first day of school in the second term after the food supplier failed to deliver food to schools.
The municipality announced that it will be partnering with local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to support the school nutrition programme in the area.
DA mayor in uMngeni Municipality Chris Pappas referred to the move as a short-term intervention to assist learners in accessing nutritious meals following challenges experienced by the KZN Department of Education in ensuring the delivery of food to some lower-income schools.
“The provision of nutritious meals to learners is critical to their development and success in the classroom. The uMngeni Municipality recognises the importance of addressing this issue and is committed to working with local NGOs to support the school nutrition programme.
“The municipality has identified several NGOs with experience in providing meals during times of emergency and will be partnering with them to ensure that learners in the area have access to nutritious meals,” he said.
While the municipality’s partnership with local NGOs is a short-term intervention to address the current challenges, Pappas said the municipality was committed to working with the department to find long-term solutions to ensure the sustainable provision of nutritious meals to all learners in the area.
“The municipality has pledged R1 for every R1 raised by civil society (with a maximum cap). These funds have been identified as part of the municipality’s disaster response budget. In total, the municipality will spend R70 000 to support this dire situation.
“The uMngeni Municipality believes that this partnership will not only support the nutritional needs of learners, but will also provide an opportunity for the community to come together and address a critical issue affecting the education of our children,” Pappas said.
He further encouraged other local municipalities and organisations to take similar action in support of learners who rely on school feeding programmes.
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