Government to meet school feeding caterers today over strike action
A meeting has been scheduled between the government and the School Feeding Caterers Association today, May 16 2022 over the latter’s decision to stop cooking.
The situation has left school children who are beneficiaries of the National School Feeding Program without food as the livid caterers have vowed not to cook if the government fails to increase their allocation from 93 pesewas per child to GHS 3.00.
The caterers complained about, the high cost of food items and the general hardship in the country making it impossible for them to feed the pupils.
According to them, they incur huge losses from cooking meals for the children at the current price allocation of the government.
President of the Greater Accra School Feeding Caterers Association, Madam Juliana Cudjoe said, “the price of oil has increased to GHS 480. In 2017, we used to buy it for GHS 70. If we want to buy on credit, we pay GHS 600. Beans used to be GHS500 but now it is GHS 1,400. Rice has also gone up from GHS 80 to GHS 360. What do you expect us to do? You brought in the school feeding program and with the prices of foodstuff going up, you still pay us 97 pesewas and we are even taxed on that amount.”
This is not the first time the caterers are demanding an increase in the allocation. A section of the caterers in 2021 criticized the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Sara Adwoa Safo for failing to address their concerns.
They said increasing the allocation to GHS3 will ensure that they are able to provide quality and adequate meals for pupils.
