After seeing the condition of the Elswood Secondary School on-site kitchen, GrandWest in association with the Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA) has provided the school with a revamped kitchen.
The fully fitted kitchen, valued at R200 000, includes a stove, cooking utensils, plates, cutlery, proper flooring, lockable doors, serving hatches, a sink, cupboards, shelves, and safe plumbing and electricity outlets.
In attendance for the formal handover yesterday were Education MEC David Maynier, WCED deputy director-general: Institution Development and Co-Ordination’s Alan Meyer, Leonsdale ward councillor Franchesca Walker and councillor Charles Esau.
Established 64 years ago, PSFA provides basic ingredients to be used in the daily meals provided to learners, training members of the community to prepare and serve the meals.
GrandWest will also be donating R93 000 to PSFA to provide meal packs for 141 Elswood High School learners for a year.
GrandWest general manager Mervyn Naidoo said: “GrandWest regularly invests in programmes that will give children the best possible educational advantages, but a key component of learning is nutrition. Without at least one good meal a day, any child will battle to concentrate and learning will become a struggle. We have a long association with the PSFA that we are proud of.”
Principal Marlon Kiewiet said: “Thank you so much to Sun International and GrandWest for this brilliant sponsorship. Our new kitchen will enable us to feed our learners a well-deserved meal every day.”
GrandWest also provided just under R119000 for a PSFA nutrition programme at Valhalla High School in Elsies River, with two volunteers to prepare food for 165 learners.
The company is also donating R87000 to provide a kitchen to Nebo Primary School in Ravensmead, to be handed over at the beginning of December.