LCC hosts FRESHGROWS project delegation, discuss Food Systems and School Feeding programmes
Ndaba
By Kwilanzi News Zambia
The Future Resilience of Home-Grown School Feeding Systems in Urban Zambia and Malawi (FRESHGROWS) project team paid a courtesy call on Lusaka Town Clerk, Engineer Liftery Ndaba.
The visit aimed to share ideas on food systems and school feeding programmes in Lusaka, discuss collaboration opportunities and outline next steps for project implementation.
FRESHGROWS is a collaborative project between the University of Zambia (UNZA) and the University of Malawi (UNIMA), funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), seeking to support urban policies on school feeding systems and climate action in Lusaka and six other cities in Zambia and Malawi, with Lusaka city having served as a focal point case study, making Lusaka City Council an active collaborator.
Project Lead, Dr. Gilbert Siame, stated that FRESHGROWS intends to link school feeding programmes with local food production, encouraging farmers to produce more food and generate income.
Dr. Siame, who is also Lead of the Centre for Urban Research and Planning at the University of Zambia under the Department of Geographical Sciences, Environment and Planning, said that with the provision of a school feeding programme, especially in Early Childhood Development Programmes (ECD), children will have an opportunity to concentrate on school.
Dr. Siame emphasised that school feeding programmes are effective in both urban and rural schools and encouraged schools to establish cooking bays using the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to stimulate development.
IDRC Senior Program Specialist Edidah Lubega Ampaire commended partners for their efforts and expressed hope that research findings would help governments and stakeholders address gaps in school feeding programmes.
Meanwhile, Lusaka Town Clerk Eng. Liftery Ndaba welcomed the delegation and assured them of the council’s continued support for the project.
Eng. Ndaba praised FRESHGROWS and its funders, stating that their work complements government efforts to ensure no child is left behind. – Zambian Children Young People and Women in Development – Kwilanzi Newspaper Zambia (ZCYPWD – KNZ).
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