2024: Fuelling Future Generations in Ghana Through Food

Jeffrey Opoku, founder of the Education 4 Adaption Accelerator programme, provides green curriculums and schools in Ghana.

The programme partners with #BreakFreeFromPlastic to support the integration of plastic education in Ghana’s education curriculum. Practical activity involves supporting partner schools in eliminating single-use plastics, replacing them with eco-friendly alternatives. They plan to expand the curriculum to include food systems, support school caterers to transform school menus and localise food education and advocate for better school feeding program for Ghanaian Public schools.

Jeffrey spearheads a food system project that promotes local food system education by connecting school children to the farming communities and supporting school cooks in redesigning school meals to include healthy, sustainable plant-based meals like beans (which is in support of the SDG 2 Advocacy Hub #beansishow campaign: to increase beans consumption by 2028).

Jeffrey writes:

“School Meals is not just about providing food; it’s about nourishing young minds and empowering future generations. As we celebrate this day, it’s crucial to recognize the profound impact that school meal programs have on sustainable and quality education. Access to healthy food significantly affects a child’s academic performance. As per a recent report by the World Food Program in 2023, providing nutritious meals at school increases enrolment by 9% and attendance by 8%. More so, educated communities are better equipped to make informed choices about nutrition, understand the importance of diverse diets, and implement measures to reduce food wastage.”

Read more from their International School Meals Day blog here.