- The Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA) has introduced a new nutritional menu for 187 educational institutions in the Western Cape, the first update in 16 years.
- The new menu includes a variety of seasonal vegetables, fruits, and new items such as chicken livers and noodles, aimed at providing balanced and nutritious meals to learners.
- Celebrity chef Zola Nene helped launch the menu, showcasing its delicious and healthy options.
Pilchard fish cakes served with apple and cabbage slaw. Rice and Asian spiced soya mince. Imifino pasta.
One would be correct to think that these meals are from a restaurant menu. But these are the meals learners at 187 educational institutions across the Western Cape enjoy during the week, thanks to the Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA).
Recently, the PSFA revitalised its nutritional menu for the first time in 16 years.
The launch took place at the Cape Town Hotel School restaurant in Granger Bay on Wednesday 17 July.
Since 1958, the PSFA has been living up to its motto: “You can’t teach a hungry child”, by supplying warm meals to thousands of learners daily.
What initially began with a warm bowl of soup and bread has grown into a hot breakfast of maize meal and a cooked lunchtime meal, consisting of protein, carbohydrates and vegetables.
Wednesday saw these nutritious, warm and filling meals revamped. It still includes staples such as samp, rice, sugar beans, soya, pilchards in tomato sauce, fresh vegetables and fruits.
However, there’s now a variety of seasonal vegetables and fruit and meals are being prepared differently with an addition of noodles, chicken livers, soya variants and raisins.
New menu
Petrina Pakoe, director of PSFA, said: “It has been 16 years since we introduced a new menu. One of the new things on the menu is chicken livers. Previously, the menu was a vegetarian or plant-based meal. Now we have introduced some animal products and increased the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of our menus.”
She explained that learners have enjoyed the new menu since the start of the third term and added that their voluntary food preparers underwent training.
“We had them trained at the beginning of June. They spent some time understanding the menu and getting the measurements right.”
Pakoe said 16 years ago the menu only consisted of soup and sandwiches. Later, they added a cooked lunch meal.
“Previously, we used to have fish breyani on a Monday, we had soya, samp and beans and pilchards twice a week. We only had set vegetables like carrots and butternut.
She added that the improved menu offers more variety.
“Now with the new menu, we are offering more flavours of soya. We now have savoury and chicken soya added to the menu. We have a variety of vegetables like sweet potatoes, gem squash and pumpkins: seasonal vegetables. At first, we only gave apples, we have now added plums, pears, bananas and whatever is in season.”
According to Pakoe, the learners can’t get enough.
“The children are loving it, especially the chicken livers and the noodles. We introduced noodles last year already. Now noodles and pasta will be a permanent feature.”
Flavours revitalised
To showcase how delicious these simple staples can be, renowned celebrity chef and PSFA ambassador Zola Nene revitalised these local flavours, and added her sprinkle of creativity to create meals for guests to sample at the launch.
Nene and hospitality management students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology prepared and served tasty treats, which included canapé of chicken liver pâté en croute and creamy samp croquettes.
A tasting menu included pilchard fish cakes served with apple and cabbage slaw, Imifino pasta, rice and chicken soya bowls, sugar bean curry, uputhu and shantini.
Nene said: “Food is an essential part of my community and culture and I am passionate about promoting local ingredients. The children get a meal that is not only filling but is actually beneficial to them nutritionally. The work that PSFA does is incredible. I feel privileged to be part of a solution to alleviating hunger.”
Samantha Linden, the chef instructor at Granger Bay Hotel School, said about 14 hospitality management students volunteered to create the meals on Wednesday.
“It has been a great honour and privilege to work with Chef Nene, she is a kind and humble soul teaching us all techniques of how to take simple ingredients and make exotic and nutritious foods.”
Helen Donkin, public health and nutrition consultant, did a synopsis of the new PSFA menu and said all in line with the RDA the menu’s macronutrients, micronutrients, minerals and vitamins have all improved.
PSFA’s annual charity family fun walk, Blisters for Bread, will take place on Sunday 25 August at Stephan Way in Green Point and end at the Green Point Cricket Club.
It will include two routes along the Sea Point Promenade, a 10km walk starting at 07:45 and a 5km walk starting at 8:15.
People’s Post is a proud print media sponsor of the event.
Register to take part in this year’s event and stand a chance to win a R1 000 Sportsman’s Warehouse voucher or a Nutribullet. Winners will be selected randomly and will be notified through email. To collect their prizes they will be required to produce competition details.
To win email your name and surname with the subject Bread to win@peoplespost.co.za to win.
Visit www.psfa.org.za to enter the walk.
