Nutrition
Ensuring our students have access to tasty healthy food is integral to our overall success as a school. 50% of children in Guatemala suffer from chronic malnutrition which has a catastrophic impact on their health, stunting growth and impeding development. It is widely known that undernourishment and iron deficiency have long lasting effects into adulthood (World Food Programme).
We also run workshops with parents on the importance of nutrition at home including where to source affordable, healthy produce.
For many children, the school meals will be the only food they eat all day.
Our students receive two meals each day and for many it will be the only food they eat that day.
We have a school chef whose menu focuses on both flavor and nutritional value. During the pandemic, our school kitchen had to close and we switched our focus to the distribution of food hampers. These provided vital food and in-person contact to hundreds of our families. They continue to be a regular lifeline when economic hardship strikes. Our sponsors donated a total of 352 hampers in 2022.