The implementation of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) for household food security in selected public schools in Malamulela, Limpopo Province

Abstract

The goal of this study was to determine whether the National School Nutrition Programme contributes to food security in recipient households, in addition to providing one meal per school day to students. The researcher was interested in whether the programme had a long-term effect on households rather than simply meeting a short-term need. The researcher chose the interpretivist paradigm for the study, since it was likely that participants would have different perspectives on the same programme, and it is these perspectives which the researcher sought to uncover. This study made use of qualitative research methods. The schools selected are all Quintile 2 schools situated in rural villages in the far north of Limpopo. Many of the learners at the schools come from child-headed or grandparent-headed families; some because their parents work in cities far from home, and others because they rely on social grants for income. The study's findings indicate that the programme has an impact in terms of ensuring daily meals at schools for students, which is a short-term need, and goes some way to meeting household food security needs, but is insufficient to have any significant effect, being neither regular nor sustainable. In light of this finding, the researcher has made nine recommendations that may contribute to the provision of sustainable household food security for households in Limpopo Province by the National School Nutrition Programme, based on its existing policy, principles and goals.