ABOUT 150 pupils from each public primary school across the 18 local government areas of Cross River State are to benefit from the free school feeding programme of the Federal Government.
The Special Adviser to the Cross River State Governor on the feeding programme, Mr Gab Okulaja, who disclosed this during a stakeholders’ workshop in Calabar, said the feeding programme would commence in the first week of May for children aged between one to 15 in primaries one to three, in all public schools across the state.
He said: “The programme will start in six weeks in the state and shall cater for 1-100 and not exceeding 150 pupils in primaries one to three in all public schools in the 18 local government areas of Cross River State, with menu prepared from only locally available foods in the state.”
He said the programme would involve vendors for food processing, distribution and preparation for public schools located in all communities, no matter where such schools are located, to help nourish the health of pupils and boost their concentration level.
“Our state shall be a leading platform for sustaining the school feeding programme aimed at eradicating poverty, malnutrition, enhancing pupils’ health and increasing school enrolment for the development of the state.”
Mr Okulaja stated that apart from boosting the children’s health, the programme would increase local agricultural production alongside income for the farmers and create job opportunities.
The stakeholders, in a communiqué, called for an upward review of the N70.00 per meal for each child as the cost of food stuff and preparation of the food has increased within the last few months.