THE NUTRITIONAL CONTENT OF FOODS SERVED IN THE SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAM IN BASIC SCHOOLS IN GHANA

Bernice Nana-Mireku, Charles Amoah Agyei, Marvel Hinson, Florence Harvey

Abstract


The purpose of the study was to evaluate the nutritional content of food served in the school feeding programme in basic schools in Ghana. The research design adopted for this study was a descriptive survey design. A simple random sampling procedure was used to draw a sample of 4 schools out of 19 schools in Birim Central municipality. In all, there were 23 teachers, four head teachers and 15 cooks selected for the study. Questionnaire and chemical analysis processes were used to collect data for the study. The result of the study indicated that the nutritional content of food served to children under the SFP failed to meet at least 50% of the RDI based on 2400 kilocalories. Results showed that the nutritional content of meals served to pupils under the SFP did not meet 50% RDI for school lunches. However, caterers had a high level of nutritional knowledge and the majority of them had a positive attitude towards nutrition education. It was recommended that food commodities that have a high concentration of various nutrients (protein, carbohydrate, fat and oil, vitamins and minerals) should be used instead of using those that have low concentrations.

 

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Keywords


School Feeding Program (SFP), Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI), basic schools

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v9i9.4444

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