New lunch container provides happy meals
Jendamark donation helps improve feeding scheme
A PORT Elizabeth school will no longer have a shortage of space to prepare food after they were donated a large container.
Dietrich Primary School in Schauderville received a generous donation from automation company Jendamark, which helped them to improve their feeding scheme at the school.
Previously the school faced some problems as the preparation area was not suited to housing five ladies.
School principal Ismail Salie said they were very grateful for the donation.
“We never really had a kitchen in which we could prepare food for the pupils. Our food assistants had to prepare the meals in a tiny corridor where they could barely fit through,” Salie said.
“We also had an idea to have a bigger kitchen built at the school, but our financial situation did not allow for that.
“Then Jendamark came in to help us out by assisting us financially in the purchasing of a container.”
Salie said pupils at his school came from impoverished backgrounds and often the meal at school was all they ate for the day.
“Coming to school on an empty stomach is an even bigger challenge. As a school it is our aim to eliminate the hunger barrier at the school and make the environment more conducive to learning,” Salie said.
The food assistants can now quickly and easily prepare meals for the 937 pupils. Jendamark key accounts manager Natasha Thompson said they are delighted to help the school.
“We always enjoy helping schools in disadvantaged communities,” Thompson said. “This donation will help the school as the container is used as a kitchen, and is bigger than the space they had used before.”
One of the food assistants, Lynette Dubase was happy about the donation.
“Some of the children come to school without having eaten anything the night before, so they look forward to the meal at school,” Dubase said.
“It is important for a child to eat something before leaving for school, as they cannot concentrate because of the hunger.”
-Amir Chetty
