One in 12 working class Afrikaans children have only one meal a day: what they get given at school.
Solidarity trade union’s charity arm‚ Helping Hand‚ surveyed 16 Afrikaans nursery schools in lower income suburban areas across the country to learn what the young children ate.
The survey‚ prepared by Markdata research company‚ asked parents to report on what food their child had eaten in the week prior to completing the questionnaire.
The answers revealed that toddlers and young kids relied on carbohydrates for food and didn’t get enough vegetables and protein.
Just over 8% of these children were only eating one meal a day and 22% had only two meals a day.
In total 30% of the 550 Afrikaans households‚ from all nine provinces‚ had to ask for food at least once a week from churches‚ friends or NGOs.
About 20% of participants came from middle class areas.
Spokesman for Solidarity Ilze Nieuwoudt said malnourished children didn’t concentrate well enough at school or develop optimally.
She even said well fed-middle class toddlers were getting the wrong foods and not eating enough vegetables‚ fruit or protein. This too affected their development and school performance.
Helping Hand is raising money to increase their school feeding scheme at Afrikaans nursery schools.
Lower income government schools get meals for the children once a day‚ but nursery schools are not included in the Department of Education school feeding scheme.
Nursery schools and creches can apply to the Department of Social Development for money for food for children. If the nursery school qualifies for government money‚ they receive R9 a day per child.
The poor diets of children at pre-schools unpacked
One in 12 working class Afrikaans children have only one meal a day: what they get given at school.
Solidarity trade union’s charity arm‚ Helping Hand‚ surveyed 16 Afrikaans nursery schools in lower income suburban areas across the country to learn what the young children ate.
The survey‚ prepared by Markdata research company‚ asked parents to report on what food their child had eaten in the week prior to completing the questionnaire.
The answers revealed that toddlers and young kids relied on carbohydrates for food and didn’t get enough vegetables and protein.
Just over 8% of these children were only eating one meal a day and 22% had only two meals a day.
In total 30% of the 550 Afrikaans households‚ from all nine provinces‚ had to ask for food at least once a week from churches‚ friends or NGOs.
About 20% of participants came from middle class areas.
Spokesman for Solidarity Ilze Nieuwoudt said malnourished children didn’t concentrate well enough at school or develop optimally.
She even said well fed-middle class toddlers were getting the wrong foods and not eating enough vegetables‚ fruit or protein. This too affected their development and school performance.
Helping Hand is raising money to increase their school feeding scheme at Afrikaans nursery schools.
Lower income government schools get meals for the children once a day‚ but nursery schools are not included in the Department of Education school feeding scheme.
Nursery schools and creches can apply to the Department of Social Development for money for food for children. If the nursery school qualifies for government money‚ they receive R9 a day per child.
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