Ministry of Education focuses on improving nutrition standards in the School Feeding Program

Ministry of Education focuses on improving nutrition standards in the School Feeding Program
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 22/07/2011

The Ministry of Education (MINERD) is gearing to start a program for improving the nutritional level of its School Feeding Program, Programa de Alimentación Escolar (PAE), said the vice minister in charge of Student Wellbeing, Susana Michel.

The vice minister participated, along with the director of School Breakfast Quality Assurance (Aseguramiento de Calidad del Desayuno Escolar), engineer Josefina Felipe, in an interview in the radio talkshow Huchi y el Equipo, which airs on CDN Radio.

The vice minister stated that the first stage is improving the quality of the products that are currently offered as part of the School Breakfast (bread, milk, juice and pie) and that by January of next year new components will be introduced, as a reaction to a nutritional survey conducted with public school children nationwide.

The vice minister participated, along with the director of School Breakfast Quality Assurance (Aseguramiento de Calidad del Desayuno Escolar), engineer Josefina Felipe, in an interview in the radio talkshow Huchi y el Equipo, which airs on CDN Radio.

Mrs. Michel denied reports that had stated that the Ministry of Education was considering the possibility of including corn flakes in its school feeding menu.

“We need to start by developing a base study of the current nutritional conditions of the children, and what type of nutrients they need to continue to develop in this teaching-learning process. Depending on the results of the study, next year we will introduce whatever type of products the survey shows are needed”, said Michel.

The director of School Breakfast Quality Assurance (Aseguramiento de Calidad del Desayuno Escolar), stated that the survey that will be conducted is comprehensive, as it covers many aspects, such as blood lab results, and anthropometric measurements (height, weight and body volume index) to verify a student’s nutritional condition. This information will allow the researchers to observe the child’s progress as he/she is fed. They will also develop a questionnaire that will allow for the menus to be modified according to the area’s eating habits.

“What we want is for the School Feeding Program to offer food that is typical in each region and is in accordance with the community’s eating habits”, said Josefina Felipe.
Vice Minister Michel stated that the Government invests 20 million pesos a day to ensure that children receive the nutrients they need to stimulate them to develop their learning process.

“Our Minister, Josefina Pimentel, and the entire team working on the School Feeding Program, are focused on helping children receive the best nutrients and improve their health and nutritional conditions”, she added.

She also mentioned that a portion of fruit would slowly be introduced to the current components of the breakfast, starting in the bigger cities.


The Government invests RD$20.0 million a day to ensure that children receive the adequate nutrients.