Feeding Nutritious meals to Children in our ECD

Early childhood development centers (ECDs) in South Africa support children’s physical, mental and emotional development. Rise Against Hunger Africa assists the ECDs by providing Rise Against Hunger meals. The benefits of the donated meals are twofold. First, adequate nutrition is crucial for early childhood development. The Rise Against Hunger meals provided to the young students ensure they have the nutrition needed for their health. 

Second, the nutritious meals generate cost savings for the ECDs. When the centers don’t have to pay out of pocket for food for the children, they are able to put the money saved into improving the school’s infrastructure. This enables them to work toward higher levels of certification to meet the Department of Basic Education standards and obtain proper registration. These standards and registration help the centers receive support from the government, which in turn helps improve resources. Improved resources strengthen the academic opportunities for the children, supporting their education. 

ommunity programs and home-grown school garden projects are also implemented to further support the early childhood development centers and address a multitude of needs for the surrounding communities.  Working alongside the local community, school gardens are established to provide fresh vegetables and fruits to the early childhood development centers and to the community. These fruits and vegetables complement the distributed Rise Against Hunger meals, improving the participants’ quality of life and supporting long-term food security.