Can ECD Sites afford to feed the children? 2012 Update
Child under nutrition is a serious threat to children’s ability to develop and learn.
Feedback from ECD practitioners tell us just how important the food provided at ECD centres is for the children who attend especially in poor communities
where children may receive little additional food at home. This means that it is really important for centres to provide good nutrition.
While it is not enforced, the general guideline for centres receiving the Department of Social Development subsidy is that about 50% of the subsidy should go to food, 30% to salaries and 20% to other expenses.
We compare the costs in April 2012 and February 2011 of ingredients for menus provided for ECD centres by the Nutrition Directorate in the Department of Health. These were based on cheap, nutritious foods which provide 50% of the child’s recommended daily allowance – breakfast, lunch and two snacks. Ingredients were priced at the cheapest chain stores in the Cape Town Metropolitan area.
The table gives the average of four menus.
There will of course be regional variations and the cost of cooking fuel and the time of the cook is not included in this costing.
|
Daily Ingredients for |
February 2011 |
April 2012 |
| Child 1 – 3 years |
R 4.12 |
R 6.00 |
| Child 4 – 6 years |
R 4.54 |
R 6.45 |
| Social Development Daily Subsidy |
R12
|
R15
|
| % of Subsidy |
34 – 38% |
40 – 43% |
This means that the R15 per child per day subsidy would be sufficient to provide for children’s nutritional needs. However, we know that many non- profit centres serving poor children do not receive a subsidy because they are not registered or departmental budgets are limited. The recent ECD Public Expenditure Tracking Study found that centres in the poorest areas spend about a quarter of their income on food, but this was less than R 2 per child per day in 2008/9.
We need to encourage centre supervisors and committees to ensure that nutritious meals are provided, even though we understand the challenge for centres of meeting their salary bill and other expenses. We also need to assist centres in poor communities to comply with registration requirements that will enable them to access the subsidy.
Ingredients
|
Rice |
|
Maize Meal |
|
Mabela |
|
Samp |
|
Soya Mince |
|
Dry beans |
|
Peanut butter |
|
Milk |
|
Jam |
|
Margarine |
|
Brown bread |
|
Oil |
|
Spinach |
|
Sugar |
|
Beef stewing |
|
Potatoes |
|
Pumpkin |
|
Eggs |
|
Tomato/onion mix |
|
Oranges |
|
Apples |
If you would like a copy of the menus contact research@elru.co.za
y is it possible that you can send me a copy of your daily food menu that i can use at my ecd center?
Hi Lynnette
Can you please give us your email address or email research@elru.co.za for a complete menu.
Many thanks
Hi could also send me a copy my email ad is anthea.pvelapi@yahoo.com
Please forward me a copy of your daily food menu to above email address.
Thanks