The Opposition People’s Party for Democracy and Development (PdP) has come up with a proposal to help needy children to continue receiving food from the School Meals Department while schools remain closed indefinitely.
PdP shadow Minister of Education Rosaline Corbin noted that the meals some children receive via the Government’s School Meals Service are virtually their only meals, She said the party is concerned that given the closure of schools, our nation’s children, particularly in homes on the breadline, “will miss out on the guaranteed school meals provided daily by Government during the school term”.
She said: “While schools remain closed indefinitely, children in primary schools and where identified, those in secondary schools, should be supplied no less than three meals each week until school reopens. The requirement may not necessarily be for the full school population, but we must identify those with the greatest needs. This should be a balanced meal consisting of meat, vegetables, and starches, together with a vitamin C-enriched drink and fruits.
Corbin said the request was not an unreasonable one, in that several Government agencies are in a position to fund it, including “the Barbados Estimates for the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training for school meals, the Household Mitigation Unit in the Prime Minister’s Office; the Barbados Adopt a Family Programme within the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs. or from the recently formed COVID-19 Relief and Recovery (Barbados) Inc. Fund”.
She stated that the Ministry of Education would be responsible for coordinating the proposed feeding programme. “School principals can be requested to submit names of students identified as in need. The Child Care Board and Welfare Department can collaborate in identifying households/families with students in need. Guidance counsellors at secondary schools should be engaged also to make referrals. Government’s Household Mitigation Unit within the PM’s Office is strategically positioned to identify from their list of about 1,500 households which ones have more than three children under the age of 21.”
In terms of actual delivery of the meals, Corbin suggested: “A number of voluntary organisations including District Emergency Organisations, church community centres, the Roving Response Team and members of the Youth Advance Corps can be used for that purpose. They will wear the necessary Personal Protective Equipment, will be considered part of the essential services, and strict delivery times will be adhered to, as well as the protocols relating to social distancing”.
“The PdP recognises that Government is already assisting approximately 1500 vulnerable households through the Household Mitigation Unit within the Prime Minister’s Office providing them with $600 a month. However, we suggest that this must be strengthened in consideration of the extra burden at this time, with children to feed, bills to pay and other ensuing commitments to meet. PdP further insists that in these extreme circumstances, bureaucracy and red tape must not be allowed to hinder any school-age child from having access to the basic need of a daily meal.”
