School Feeding caterers appeal to govt to let them finish term despite contract terminations

Caterers under the National School Feeding Caterers Association have appealed to the government to allow them to continue providing meals to pupils until the end of the current academic term.

Their plea comes in response to recent terminations of contracts involving regional and zonal coordinators under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP).

According to the Association’s Deputy Public Relations Officer, Margaret Larbi, who spoke in an interview on Channel One on Thursday, May 8, 2025, many caterers had already acquired large quantities of food in anticipation of continuing their services. She expressed concern that the abrupt nature of the contract terminations had placed them in a difficult position.

Ms Larbi stated that there had been no prior communication about the changes, leaving caterers unprepared. She clarified that the issue was not about reapplying for contracts but rather the distress being experienced by the women involved. She noted that caterers were under the impression that any handover of duties would occur in August and had therefore stocked up on food supplies.

She added that if their contracts were to be terminated, the appropriate course of action would have been to notify them before the end of the academic term or during the holiday break.

“It’s not about reapplying but it is about what the women are going through. We knew for sure that even if we were going to hand over, it would be in August, so we have bought a lot of food items. So if you are terminating our appointments, what we thought was you should have informed us before vacation or even when the children were on vacation," she said.

Ms Larbi further revealed that the caterers had made significant investments in locally produced foodstuffs, in line with the government’s policy to support local agriculture. She said many had procured rice from the Northern Region and other staples such as beans, which were now in surplus and at risk of going to waste due to the unexpected policy change.

“What we want the government to know is that we were not informed, so we’ve bought a lot of foodstuffs. The secretariat told us to try and use Made-in-Ghana products, so the majority of us are using local rice, and we get them from the Northern Region. We have them in abundance. I don’t sell beans, but I have bought beans… So those things that I have at the moment, what am I using them for? So all that we are pleading is that they should allow us to work,” Ms Larbi appealed.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has indicated that caterers who wish to remain in the programme will be given the opportunity to reapply under a new recruitment framework.

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