Apples the size of golf balls, canned processed chicken livers and rice that does not go soft when cooked are among the foodstuffs fed to the 1.7-million Gauteng recipients of the province’s R9bn school nutrition programme.
More than 1,500 schools across the province serve breakfast and lunch to pupils Monday to Friday — for many, it is the only food they get on those days.
The Sunday Times has learnt that pupils from a secondary school in Orlando, Soweto, recently complained that the rice delivered to their school never gets soft, regardless of how long it is cooked.
Several school governing body (SGB) members told the Sunday Times that many of the brands of maize meal, rice, canned processed chicken livers and instant porridge delivered to their schools are unknown — and not sold at national grocery retailers.
“I saw these canned processed chicken livers for the first time here at the school; I don't understand why the department opted for this type of protein,” an SGB chairperson said.
The canned chicken livers are made mainly by two manufacturers approved by the provincial education department to supply the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP).
Some of the bananas are the size of a middle finger, but due to higher prices we've stopped buying bananas at all.
— Food supplier
The size and quality of the fruit delivered were also raised by the SGB members; it ranges from golf ball-size apples to index finger-size bananas. Department regulations stipulate that pupils must get at least one fruit a week.
An SGB chairperson at a Soweto primary school said the apples “are of the lowest grade possible”.
Staff at a nearby high school said that because the fruit was so small, they were handing out up to four per child on a first-come, first-served basis.
Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the decision to use canned chicken livers “was influenced by logistical, food safety and infrastructure constraints identified in the NSNP implementation”.
“Canned chicken livers offer standardised portions, longer shelf life and easier transportation and storage, simplifying logistics and ensuring food safety,” he said. The canned chicken livers were provided by two approved food companies — Pashash Foods and Oh So Tasty.
“Suppliers were approved based on their ability to meet the NSNP food specifications, including nutritional, microbiological, packaging and labelling standards,” Mabona said. The products “underwent laboratory testing, shelf-life verification and sensory evaluation”.
“At the time of evaluation, only Pashash and Oh So Tasty met all mandatory specifications and passed independent laboratory testing.”
Mabona said food suppliers had to meet specific quality standards set by the department. Regular monitoring, spot checks and audits were conducted at schools to ensure adherence to compliance by the 49 suppliers taking part in the NSNP, which got under way when schools reopened last week.
“All fresh fruit and vegetables must be Class 1 or Grade A and comply with specifications. Schools are instructed to not accept substandard food items and must submit formal complaints to their relevant district should such issues arise,” Mabona said.
However, two suppliers told the Sunday Times they were limited by funds in the choice of food they could supply as they were only paid R4.13 a day per primary school pupil, and R4.33 a day for high school pupils. This payment had to cover breakfast and lunch — an average of R2.07 a meal at primary schools and R2.16 at high schools.
“As per my own calculations, my cabbage must be at R90 per bag [of ten cabbages] and 40c a fruit [to be able to make a profit],” he said.
The supplier said they were forced to buy lower grade fruit and vegetables because it would “not make financial sense to buy Grade A”.
“When you get to the market, a good cabbage goes for R130 a bag. You negotiate and ask for cabbage that goes for R90.”
Most times, he could negotiate a bag of low-quality cabbages for R90 or R100.
“You can see that the cabbage you are getting is not right, but that’s what you can afford on the budget you have,” he said.
Another supplier, who was involved in the previous nutrition programme, said he generally aimed to spend R3.84 a primary school pupil a day and R4.12 for secondary school pupils, so he could make a small profit. However, this was often a challenge due to price increases.
Buying in bulk was the only solution as profit margins were too tight, he said.
“The plum season bails us out because you can buy thousands of those small plums. The schools can complain and say the plums are small, but we can say plums by nature are small,” he said.
"We know we could be making a loss, but we will try to stabilise during the plum season, which unfortunately is only two to three months,” he said.
The supplier said sometimes the fruit that met the specification sold for R1.20 each, while his budget was 42c.
“That’s why we end up buying fruits that are small. Sometimes all you can fight for is that even if the fruits are small, they’re fresh.” There was “absolutely no way we can afford a quality apple”.
“Some of the bananas are the size of a middle finger, but due to higher prices we’ve stopped buying bananas at all,” he said.
Mabona said the department “strongly condemns any deliberate procurement of substandard food items under the NSNP”.
“Suppliers are bound by SLAs [service level agreements] and must comply — those found compromising on quality to increase profits are in breach of their contractual and legal obligations.”
He said the department reserved the right to withhold payments, issue penalties, demand immediate replacement of goods, blacklist suppliers and terminate contracts.
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