Free school meals will be available for secondary students from Monday, 21 March, the education ministry has announced.
The second phase of the public school meals programme will offer daily breakfast, lunch and snacks to students enrolled in public high schools, including the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC).
The first phase of the programme started in the islands’ primary schools and at the Lighthouse School in August 2021.
The programme will be administered through an interactive meal management system, allowing parents to view menus and view their child’s meal consumption patterns.
In primary schools and at Lighthouse School, parents can order meals through the system.
The education ministry encouraged parents and guardians to sign up to the meal management system, which was piloted in three primary schools in January and February.
Education Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said in a press release that the provided meals must be wholesome, nutritious and delivered on time.
Accordingly, a team from the ministry will work closely with other government agencies to oversee meal provision and ensure that meals that comply with the Cayman Islands Public Schools Standards for Food Provision.
The programme now covers 5,200 public school students and is expected to cost approximately $16 million each year.
The forecasted costs are $7.7 million for government primary schools, $7.9 million for high schools and $366,000 for the Lighthouse School, which offers both primary and secondary education.
To learn more about the Public Schools Meals Programme (PSMP), email the Ministry of Education at [email protected].
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In a country of extreme contrasts of wealth and spiralling living costs this is a program that is desperately needed.
Ensuring children are fed and educated is a priority for any society. Well done.
This is a great idea and teaching children to eat healthy balanced meals should go a long way to combating obesity from poor eating habits. I hope they do not offer junk food, like pizza, hot dogs, or macaroni and cheese, which has no nutritional value.