The Zero Hunger Trust Fund (ZHTF) has described as a “beacon of hope” a donation from the East Caribbean Group of Companies to its school feeding programme.
Rekah Gooding, the fund’s project officer, said that with the donation, the ZHTF has been able to continue implementing its resilient School Feeding Programme, which spans 12 schools from the most vulnerable communities across St. Vincent and the Grenadines, feeding 50 to 100% of the schools’ populations daily.
Gooding said that the school feeding programme ensures that approximately 1,600 students have access to at least one safe and nutritious meal daily, thus contributing to improved nutrition, enhanced concentration and academic performance, and increased school attendance.
This handing over ceremony marked the culmination of an ECGC initiative to excite its customers and consumers toward cooking with an ECGC brand of flour products.
It saw the company organising a cook-off competition wherein ECGC joined forces with other entities to bring it to fruition.
The ECGC Culinary Cook-off involved the exclusive use of an ECGC flour to raise awareness about the brand and spur creativity using the range of specialty flour produced by East Caribbean Flour Mills.
“The ECGC team partnered with the Beauty Shows Committee to support the further development of women in St. Vincent and the Grenadines through a collaboration designed to positively impact communities, reconfirming ECGC’s investment in enabling food security through availability, and improving the overall livelihood of children and people across St. Vincent & the Grenadines,” a press release said.
The ZHTF was selected by the winners of the culinary cook-off through beverages and grain portfolios for six months.
The donations will be directed to the Fund’s resilient School Feeding Programme for six months.