Budget boost means kids eat chicken for first time

THE department of education has new menus for its school nutrition programme – and for the first time, Eastern Cape pupils will be fed chicken meat.

The Daily Dispatch spoke to several schools who said up to now protein sources were soya mince and chicken livers and gizzards. With the new menu being rolled out, schools can serve chicken once a week.

“Our enrolment numbers are low so we can afford to give the children chicken once a month already. The allowance for nutrition has indeed gone up this year so we will follow the new menu,” she said.

According to the schools, the previous menu included sour milk, samp and beans and vegetables, with fruit served once a week.

Nutritionist Salome Kruger said the menu was a decent balance of building, protective and energy yielding foods.

“The building foods will be the meat or the meat alternatives, the protective will be the fruits and vegetables and energy yielding food the starch,” Kruger explained.

“Taking into account the financial constraints of the department, I would say the menu is a good enough effort.

“It’s important for us to also bear in mind that some of these children are only getting this one meal a day, while some are only eating bread or a diet high in starch with little or no protein.

“This diet at least features an animal-based protein, which will provide the pupils with zinc.”

Education spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said the menus were designed to guide schools.

“As the department we said that the schools must give the pupils nutritious foods but we left it up to them how to manage that,” he said. — zisandan@dispatch.co.za