Innovation of the Week: School Feeding Programs Improve Livelihoods, Diets, and Local Economies

by: borderjumpers

Thu Apr 08, 2010 at 07:25:30 AM MST

In many parts sub-Saharan Africa, 60 percent of children come to school in the morning without breakfast, if they attend school at all. Many suffer from health and developmental problems, including stunted growth. Exhausted from hunger and poor nutrition, they often have trouble paying attention and learning during class.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) provides school meals for about 20 million children in Africa. While some national governments, including in Côte d'Ivoire, have provided school meals for decades, the food, fuel, and financial crises of 2007-08 highlighted the role that school nutrition programs can play in not only improving education, health, and nutrition, but also providing a safety net for children living in poverty. For some children, these programs provide the only real meal of the day.

Improved school menus provide students with much-needed nutrition while also creating an incentive for both students and parents to keep up regular attendance. Some programs include a take-home ration, targeted specifically at improving the attendance of girls. In exchange for an 80-percent attendance rate for one month, for example, students are able to take home a jug of vegetable oil to their family. Students also often share the nutrition information they learn at school with family members, helping to improve the nutritional value of meals made at home.

Earlier this year, the Partnership for Child Development (PCD), in partnership with the WFP and with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, launched the Home Grown School Feeding (HGSF) program. HGSF, modeled in part after programs developed by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), works with governments to develop and implement school feeding programs, improving the diets and education of students while also creating jobs and supporting local agriculture.

Starting with five countries that were either already running school food programs or had demonstrated an interest in them and a capacity for implementation--including Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Mali, Kenya, and Ghana--HGSF hopes to create a bigger market for rural farmers through demand created by purchasing only locally grown and processed food for school meals.

"The definition of `local' varies from country to country," says Kristie Neeser, program coordinator at PCD. "Some schools keep their food purchasing within the local community and some keep their purchasing within the country. But what is most important is creating that relationship between the farmers and the government program."

To best facilitate links between farmers and governments, HGSF works closely with the ministries of education to develop programs that will suit local needs and customs. In Ghana, for example, markets are run by "market queens," women who purchase vegetables from farmers and then sell them to commercial buyers at markets. To avoid disrupting this system, HGSF works to incorporate the market queens with Ghana's school purchasing process, instead of attempting to deal directly with the farmers, as programs in other countries often do.

Ultimately, HGSF hopes to work with 10 countries, transitioning each program to being fully government owned, funded, and implemented--creating a permanent safety net for school children and a dependable demand for local, small-scale, farmer-sourced produce.

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Republicans Clamor for Public Input While Shutting Down CHIP Initiative

by: Matt Singer

Wed Apr 08, 2009 at 11:36:03 AM MST

Look -- seek public input on your nominees or don't. I couldn't really care less because posting a comment section on your website hardly requires that you listen to or care about the comments that get made. But don't tell me you deeply value public opinion when the current thrust of your public message is that voters didn't know what they were supporting last November.

What are Senate Republicans Thinking?

by: Matt Singer

Mon Apr 06, 2009 at 16:50:16 PM MST

One Republican has broken ranks -- John Brueggeman -- but the rest are standing firm so far.

What is strange is who is leading this effort -- Senator Dave Lewis. Dave Lewis has always struck me (from afar) as a reasonable guy. He's digging in hard on this fight, though. It's almost like he just wants to write the negative mail pieces.

GOP Blocking Kids' Health Insurance for Philosophical, Not Budgetary Reasons

by: Matt Singer

Mon Mar 09, 2009 at 12:31:03 PM MST

We've been writing about this issue for a while and we know the basic messages coming out of both sides: Democrats say, "They is kidz and gets sick. We has to insure." Republicans say, "But is costz $! Kthxbai!"

But here's the thing -- the initiative set up a special fund that can only be used to fund the initiative. I don't understand the ins-and-outs. I'm not on taxation or appropriations or whatever. But the fund exists and will exist whether the money is spent on little kids' health care. But it can't be spent on anything else.

So, in other words, either the Republicans in Helena are just straight up philosophically dedicated to hating on little kids OR they don't understand the budget process. Given that Sen. Dave Lewis, a smart guy and former budget director, is one of the Republicans leading the charge here, I have a tough time believing ignorance is driving all of it. That's too bad, because based on a couple brief encounters and my general impression, Dave Lewis is one of the reasonable Republicans.

Maybe my understanding is wrong -- it has been before. If it is, please correct me in comments. I'd love to be wrong on this.

More Children! Less Health Care!

by: Matt Singer

Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 09:19:14 AM MST

GOP legislators this week endorsed a measure to massively restrict abortion rights and also called for massive cuts to children's health insurance programs. Barney Frank said conservatives believe life begins at conception and ends at birth and this is a pretty example of that line of thinking.

Look, I'm a safety netter, a social Democrat, whatever. I think the government should ensure that all Americans have access to health insurance. But why the hell do conservatives think that compelled birth coupled with no assistance to low-income families to provide the basics like health care and food is a great idea for the little ones they're bringing into the world?

Last night, we had a class for Forward Montana and MontPIRG interns and we talked progressive values. I offered one approach that I'm a fan of -- Rawlsian justice. I just can't imagine the mindset that thinks that a fetus 3 days before being born is a defenseless human, but upon departure from the womb should be a self-actualized individual fully capable of providing health care for itself.

I should note -- to their credit, Sens. John Brueggeman and Ryan Zinke voted against the McGee abortion measure. And the CHIP cuts haven't faced a wider hearing. There may be more sanity yet. Time will tell.

GOP Legislators Vote to Gut Healthy Montana Kids Act

by: Matt Singer

Wed Feb 18, 2009 at 13:52:44 PM MST

This decision was made on a party line vote with the following Republican legislators voting to cut:

Sen. Dave Lewis

Rep. Penny Morgan

Rep. Don Roberts

Sen. John Esp

I'm slammed at work today. Anyone have the vote totals for these districts on the Healthy Montana Kids Initiative?

Update -- Just so we're clear on numbers, we're talking about health insurance for roughly 29,000 children. And the bulk of the money for this program would be federal money -- federal money that even Rep. Dennis Rehberg voted for (but that Max Baucus is largely responsible with the SCHIP reauthorization).

We're talking $18 million in state money in FY2010. That's a little more than $50 per child per month -- not a bad deal for health insurance that will get needed health care provided now, not years down the road.

Bold Move

by: Matt Singer

Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 22:03:25 PM MST

The Healthy Montana Kids Act got 65% of the vote in HD 89, which Rep. MacLaren represents.

Like I said, bold move.

Update -- This makes more sense. It is moving in a package with A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: LEGALIZING TORTURE OF BABY KOALAS AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.

Bush Administration Declares War on Children's Health Care

by: Matt Singer

Tue Aug 21, 2007 at 12:24:12 PM MST

Under the proposal, states would only be able to expand CHIP if they can prove 95% participation rates, something our Senior Senator points out is an impossible request, out here in the real world.

Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who is chairman of the Finance Committee, argued against the proposal, saying: "No state can meet 95 percent. No state currently meets 95 percent."

Sick.

The Worst Bill of This Session

by: Matt Singer

Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 09:30:06 AM MST

1. Require that children be raised with their parents' "values, wishes and desires" in foster care even though the children have been removed from the parents' home because of abuse or neglect. (HB217)

2. Insert Lange's proclamation on parental rights into the Montana Constitution. (HB312)

What's more, I have very little doubt in my mind that the proposal would break an already weak system. Few people have the time, the energy, or the love to take in foster children. How many of these foster parents want to have a half-hour sitdown learning that they should be doing 'right' by the child by taking out the belt occasionally.

When the state estimated that implementing this legislation would cost $1.2 million, Lange called the estimate 'dog meat.' He's got the analogy wrong, his bill is hands down the worst idea of the year. Bad parents don't deserve this protection.