‘Hungry-belly children can’t learn’
Importance of good nutrition stressed at relaunch of Project STAR school-feeding initiative
Published:Tuesday | November 14, 2023 | 12:07 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
School nutrition specialist Dr Patricia Thompson has re-emphasised to parents that the first order of business daily is breakfast, noting that hungry children cannot focus on their lessons in school.
She was speaking at the relaunch of Project STAR’s school-feeding programme at the Jamaica Food and Drink Kitchen on Saturday, as parents and sponsors converged for healthy discussions.
“If they don’t eat, hungry-belly children can’t learn. They get better concentration, and this is for adults too,” said Thompson, who has a wealth of knowledge spanning two decades working on nutrition projects, some through the Ministry of Education.
The Project STAR school-feeding programme is in its second stint.
Earlier this year, Project STAR partnered with Rainforest Caribbean and the Musson Foundation to set up a school-feeding programme for young students in four schools.
The programme initially targeted Real Success Basic School, Calabar Primary School, Higholborn Street Basic School, and Parade Gardens Preparatory School, all located in downtown Kingston.
The programme will be relaunched in these schools.
Driving home the importance of proper nutrition to learning, Thompson told the parents that breakfast is essential.
“The children will be more alert, [have] better concentration, and understand their schoolwork. When they are hungry, they are very easily distracted – you know that, as we say, ‘irritable’ – and they get very aggressive. And the next thing you know, they get involved in fights,” she said.
Balanced meals
The nutrition expert stressed that variety is also important in meals and that the children should not consume the same thing every day.
“The meals must be balanced, … and then, of course, you have eating habits, and I know it’s very hard sometimes to monitor the eating habits of children, especially at school at the early childhood level,” she added, telling the parents that, with there being six food groups, no single food contains all the nutrients needed.
Bethany Young, group communications manager at Rainforest Caribbean, said the company is pleased to be a part of the initiative.
“First with the school-feeding programme and now with this cooking lab, which we think is just an excellent idea. Food is a powerful tool to bring people together, bring communities together,” Young said, adding that affordable and healthy options are available at Rainforest.
The programme has reportedly resulted in a 17 per cent increase in attendance among the targeted groups across the participating schools.
The workshops at the relaunch saw parents engaging in a cook-off by making nutritious and budget-friendly meals for children.
Also on board are the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Woman Constable Keneisha Clarke from the Kingston Central Police Division said the programme is having a significant impact in the space.
“When children are fed, they learn better, and they give less talking (trouble). We don’t have to be doing extra work with good children. When they get their food, they take in their education and we don’t have to run dem down like criminals,” said Clarke.
One parent, who did not wish to be identified, told The Gleaner that the programme has done wonders for her child, especially with a noticeable improvement in reading. She added that the child now enjoys attending school.
She permitted the child to speak with The Gleaner.
“I am a better reader because I eat a good meal each day,” the child said. “I did not like reading, but, when I eat before class, I read with my friends. My parents couldn’t afford to feed us every day.”
A new United Nations report states that 6.5 per cent of the population, or 43.2 million people, of Latin America and the Caribbean suffer from hunger.
Although this figure represents a slight improvement of 0.5 percentage points over the previous measurement, the Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023 said that the prevalence of hunger in the region is still 0.9 percentage points above the 2019 records before the outbreak of COVID-19.
It further says that in the Caribbean subregion, 7.2 million people experienced hunger in 2022, with a prevalence of 16.3 per cent. Compared to 2021, this number increased by 700,000.