The African Day of School Feeding recognizes the commitment of African nations to developing homegrown school feeding programs towards the objective of attaining the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Nascent Solutions Cameroon marked the day with parents teachers and students and staff in the East, Adamawa and North regions where Nascent carries out school feeding, serving close to 110,000 pupils. The African Day of School Feeding was commemorated in the nations capital, Yaounde. Here Nascent beneficiaries (teachers, students, and staff) attended an exhibition hosted by the Ministry of Basic Education where Nascent’s work was showcased in addresses by beneficiaries and at the Nascent booth, which was visited by government officials with a stake in sustaining the school feed program when it graduates to a national Homegrown School Feeding Policy.

Nascent Solutions’ contribution to sustainable development through its implementation of the USDA’s McGovern-Dole Food For Education program in Cameroon, has to date provided over 80million school meals to learners in 4 Regions of Cameroon and Malawi. Furthermore in cognizance of the goal of sustainability, key components of Nascent’s intervention are tailored for community continuity with local and national policy level buy-in.

At the grassroots, community sensitization about the importance of education and proper nutrition in children is vital to the Nascent model. Establishing school gardens and farms, the recruitment of volunteers for farm work, cooking and serving, in addition to the construction of infrastructure, form the foundation of Nascent homegrown school feeding. At the policy level our capacity building and advocacy for a national school feeding policy, helps drive national governments towards legislative implementation of country-wide school feeding.

The Celebration of the African Day of School Feeding demonstrates the excitement of parents and students at the initiative of school feeding and pressures local and national institutions to acknowledge its benefits and take firm action to assure its continuity as truly Home Grown School Feeding.