Background and purpose
As part of the WFP School Meals Program, WFP and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) established a school kitchen model in 2021 to enhance the nutritional content of meals served to primary school students. In this model, each student receives a traditional cold sandwich meal each day with fresh fruits and vegetables. The program was implemented by WFP's collaborative partners and initially sourced ingredients centrally from contracted wholesalers and prepared frozen meals for 110 mothers with children enrolled in the program. This personal investment by mothers ensures that every meal is prepared with care.
By 2023, the school kitchen model has expanded to serve 11,000 students in eight schools. In March 2023, WFP introduced the Satellite School Kitchen concept to expand meal production in existing school kitchens to accommodate additional students from nearby schools. Female caregivers who run school kitchens receive training in food safety and kitchen management skills along with a monthly salary and face unequal access to income-generating activities in the regular job market. It provides economic opportunities to many women.
School lunch programs source food locally through a centralized procurement process that supports local suppliers and the economy.
92% of the food consumed by students is locally sourced, of which approximately 70% is local fruit and vegetables.
With the aim of optimizing the procurement process for school kitchen models and revitalizing local economies at the peak of the economic crisis, WFP will launch two projects in May 2023 to explore the benefits of decentralizing the school meal procurement process. A pilot project was launched at the school. material. Under this model, schools use electronic cash transfer (CBT) cards to source meal ingredients directly from nearby WFP-supported retailers, allowing for transparent monitoring and recording of all transactions. Masu.
Decentralizing the procurement process has had the dual benefit of increasing business and revenue for local retailers while streamlining distribution and reducing lead times and shipping costs for fresh produce to schools . Following a successful pilot, during the 2023-2024 school year, the farm-to-school model will be expanded to nine school kitchens serving 17 schools and WFP-contracted retail outlets. We purchased ingredients for school lunches locally from six companies.
Additionally, as part of its efforts to develop comprehensive resilience-focused interventions and promote home-grown school feeding (HGSF) models, WFP will develop school kitchens and WFP-supported local school meals in 2024. We have launched a new pilot project aimed at connecting agricultural businesses. Food Systems Challenge and other emerging local agricultural businesses.
Of the potential suppliers identified, four small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were considered.
Agrefresh, a WFP-supported SME, has been selected to provide fresh food to designated school kitchens in 2024. WFP will build the capacity of the three remaining SMEs to meet WFP's food safety and quality standards and facilitate their integration with UN school kitchens. End of 2024.
