Together with partners, including Nestle Healthy Kids, commemorations were held in KwaZulu-Natal at Pisgah Primary School and in the Free State at Sentebale Primary last week.
National Nutrition Week is a response to government's call to "make education a societal issue". Business entities and civil society have heeded the call to partner with government in support of the NSNP, a flagship of the DBE which sees more than 8-million learners provided with a nutritious meal every day.
The NSNP encourages schools and homes to create vegetable gardens to advocate nutrition education by promoting healthy eating habits and healthy lifestyles.
Whilst the education of learners on the importance of nutrition is part of the school curriculum, the 2014 National Nutrition Week (#NNW2014) is a period of particularly heightened awareness and reinforcement of nutrition education, and an opportunity to celebrate the great advances made by government to provide healthy meals to learners in need.
The NSNP fosters quality education by alleviating hunger in the short-term, which subsequently incentivises learners to attend school regularly and punctually. The programme also addresses micro-nutrient deficiencies that may exist in children, thereby enhancing their learning capacity.
Following a long-standing partnership, food giant Tiger Brands SA partnered with the DBE to provide the 20-millionth meal to learners of Maokeng Primary School in Modimolle, Limpopo on Thursday, 16 October. "We are encouraged by the support of business and civil society to help Government feed these leaders of tomorrow," said Minister Motshekga.
