The National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), Hajia Fati Forgor, has sounded a strong warning to caterers under the scheme, declaring that any caterer who fails to provide meals for 10 consecutive school days will have their contract terminated.
Speaking at a regional training programme for caterers in the Upper East Region, Hajia Forgor said the GSFP will not hesitate to replace defaulting caterers with others willing to deliver consistent service.
“This opportunity that you have gotten, if you fail to provide food for the school pupils for 10 school food days, we have the authority to take the contract away from you and give it to a caterer who is ready to provide the service,” she stated.
Currently, 1,144 caterers have been contracted to feed pupils across the region. The training session, she explained, was designed to build the capacity of new caterers to ensure high-quality service in preparing nutritious meals for schoolchildren.
Hajia Forgor highlighted recent improvements in the programme under President John Dramani Mahama’s administration, pointing to the increase in the daily feeding allowance from GHS1.50 to GHS2.00 per child as evidence of government’s commitment to sustaining and strengthening the initiative.
She stressed that the GSFP, which once suffered from credibility issues, has undergone a significant transformation marked by accountability and better service delivery.
Encouraging caterers to take their work seriously, Hajia Forgor noted that a vibrant feeding programme is key to boosting school enrollment and retention.
“Declining enrollment means you are not doing your work well. But when children are fed consistently and properly, parents are encouraged to keep them in school,” she emphasized.
The regional training, therefore, marks a renewed push to consolidate the programme’s impact and ensure no child is denied education because of hunger.
