New school breakfast earns praise, first-day gripes

Some 17 000 students in the nursery and primary public school system were fed breakfast as a national programme launched across the island, according to Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman.

He told reporters at St Mary’s Primary School during a tour of the school on the first day of the new school year that the initiative is part of the government’s efforts to ease the burden on parents who are either unable to prepare breakfast or do not have the time due to early morning commutes.

He said: “The importance of this for us is to make sure that every Barbadian child at the primary school level who wants to have breakfast can have that. It eases the burden of the parent who may not be able to provide it. And it gives them that assurance that when they go off to work or they send their child to school that they can do so.”

He highlighted the hard work of the teams involved in ensuring the programme is delivered on time and produced to a high standard.

“The School Meals Department… prepared lunches so that all of our children within the primary school system can have them. What I’m happy about even more is that the team and the permanent secretary can tell you they’ve been working earnestly to make sure that it’s delivered on time and produced at high quality.”

Blackman also disclosed that the programme’s menu provides a variety of offerings that are intended to be both delicious and nutritious.

“They’re different menu options, some savoury, some not so savoury, but they’re all nutritious meals as well. So, I invite the public to go on to our website or go on to social media and you will see.”

At the Charles F Broomes Primary School, principal Paula Toppin expressed her contentment that the National Nutrition Policy has been expanded to include the breakfast programme.

“I’m really happy that the students at my school, who may come to school a little hungry because some of them leave home a little early, will get that nutritious start to the day.”

Also praising the programme was Stacey Blunte, principal of the Bay Primary School, who believes the breakfast will improve students’ readiness to learn.

“I really want to commend the ministry for providing these nutritious meals for our students so that we know that they are ready to start the day.”

She told Barbados TODAY that the staff responsible for the programme were at school on time to receive the meals, which arrived early in the morning.

“We recognise that breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. Before having the correct fuel, before having breakfast in the morning, some of our students are not necessarily able to function throughout the day. So we’re really pleased to partner, not only, with the Ministry of Education Transformation, but we want to thank everyone that is partnering with the Ministry of Education Transformation to bring this initiative to fruition.”

Bay Primary will for this school year host the St Paul’s Primary School’s Kindergarten to Grade 2 classes while the Britton’s Cross Road school undergoes a complete upgrade.

Some parents said they were very happy with the new initiative so far.

One mother explained that it provides a much-needed meal for her family as they travel a long distance every day.

“I leave home most mornings before seven because I live in St Thomas, so to get down here on mornings, not every morning is a morning you can actually sit down and have breakfast. So for him to be able to get to school and get breakfast, that is a plus for me,” said one mother to Barbados TODAY while her son ate his breakfast nearby.

Another parent also commended the government for the programme, saying she believes there are children who cannot afford breakfast.

“There are unfortunate children that don’t get breakfast on mornings, because I know about some but I don’t know the schools they go to and that come in handy for the kids. It will help them learn because you can’t learn on an empty belly. It’s very good.”

Ashley, another parent from Bay Primary, described the initiative as noble, while an elderly resident said it was good to see a breakfast programme return to schools. Primary School children began to be offered crackers and milk nearly 90 years ago, she said.

“They used to give us milk and biscuits; you come and take up the milk and you could drink there or go long with it and go back to class if you come late, when I went to school. If any left back whoever want could come in the afternoon, take up and eat. I hope it work out.”

President of the Bay Primary PTA, Janelle Reid, also gave the programme her thumbs up, encouraging students to accept the food offered to them.

“Being able to come to school and have that breakfast readily available to them is an excellent initiative and I hope that they will take advantage of it and the parents will encourage them to take advantage of it.

Not all parents were pleased with the first day’s offering, criticising the difference between what was stated on the menu and what was actually served.

One parent complained that the menu stated the children would receive a banana, but that was not served. Another stated that there was no hot tea for the children, while another said: “One slice of bread can’t sustain a 10-year-old.”

Others believed that some schools would receive preferential treatment, claiming that their children did not receive what they saw other schools receiving.

“A slice of bread with cheese, a piece of peach and a box juice,” said one parent

Others were also of the opinion that more money was spent on the packaging than the actual meals.

Blackman gave an assurance that the authorities would continue monitoring the programme to ensure it is being served at a time that does not interfere with the teaching and learning process.

“We will also continue to monitor not only the production but the delivery times because we want to ensure that school continues to start on time as well. We continue in a deliberate way to ensure that we can deliver education in Barbados with these new initiatives.”

(LG)