The Full Story
Kadugama Sustainable Food Program
A/Kudagama Viduhala is school in Kudagama Thambuttegama, from the Anuradhapura District in the North Central Province of Sri Lanka, serving ~200 children from the ages of 6 to 18, whose parents live in this town and nearby areas. The community makes its living through agriculture, chena cultivation and other labor menial jobs.
Food Program
The program provides a model and funding for local foods to be sourced from the community. These foods include fish from local lakes, vegetables grown nearby, etc. Every day, a group of parents come to the school and cook for the children. All school children from grades 6 and above are provided food (the government provides separately for the younger children)
Community Resilience
This program encourages a collaborative relationship between the school, community and parents. Food is sourced from the community, helping local farmers and fishermen. Parents cook the food with love for their children, ensuring the best use of funds for the most nutritious and diverse meals possible. The school and parents work together to make provide the children with a healthy environment for best learning.
Impact and Metrics
The program feeds about 100 school children every weekday, at an impressive cost of less than $0.20 per child per meal. The school tracks improvement in student attendance, overall health and study accomplishments. We have already seen improvements in all of these.
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In addition, the school maintains a food WhatsApp channel, where the community can track and collaborate on what the kids eat every day! What a wonderful way to connect a community with a goal they all share, the desire for happy and healthy children! See pictures of the updates and video of the whatsapp channel here!