Hunger pains! Transport headache for School Meals is hurting students Loop Barbados
Black Immigrant Daily News
The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) wants government to look into the vehicle issues surrounding the School Meals Services immediately because it is impacting the island’s most vulnerable – “our children”.
A Christ Church-located school received lunch from Schools Meals Services after 1:30 pm, almost two hours late, on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.
DLP Education Chair Melissa Savoury-Gittens told Loop News, “better needs to be done like yesterday”.
The woes at the Blackman and Gollop School, came after similar complaints arose at Welches Primary recently. Savoury-Gittens said that she conducted her research and learnt that the crux of the matter is transportation. She said in the case of Welches Primary, only one van was available to service all the schools catered to by the centre at Lancaster and Welches was way down the list and Highway 2A. As it relates to yesterday’s delay, she said again transportation was given as the excuse in Christ Church.
Savoury-Gittens said that the Schools Meals Services’ late delays are affecting the entire school, not only those who take school meals. She said that parents have complained to her and teachers have confirmed that they are directed to let all the students eat together at one time, even if the delivery is late. “So even the children who bring packed lunches have to eat late when the vans are late. It is not good!”
After almost two years at home, at this time when children should be getting the most out of the six hours of face-to-face schooling, Savoury-Gittens asserts, “This is another disruption. It disrupts the whole school day. Teaching cannot resume until the children are fed. They are hungry and agitated obviously. Big adults sometimes cannot work when hungry, so what about these little ones? It is just another disruption in their day and brings learning to a halt.”
Aware that on the other hand there are parents and teachers who are complaining about the presentation of the dishes prepared by School Meals, she said that’s not her concern today, more importantly, is the time of arrival. She stressed, “Let it be there and let it be on time so that school can carry on as usual.” She said the high amount of food wastage because students “do not like how it looks, so they do not eat it,” is a matter for another day.
NewsAmericasNow.com
