Schools could soon be dishing out indigenous meals to hungry learners.
The Indigenous Foods for Poverty Alleviation project, a joint venture between the department of arts and culture and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, seeks to encourage communities, especially in poor rural areas, to grow their own traditional foods.
Indiza Food, a Section 21 company, has been set up to market and drive the commercialisation of indigenous foods, which are affordable and rich in nutrients.
Indigenous foods include: morogo (a green, leafy vegetable), mealie bread (fresh mealie balls), semphemphe pudding (wild melon pudding), mabele (sorghum porridge), masonja (also known as mopani worms) and isigwampa (a vegetable and mealie dish).
Nkana Makena, director of Indiza Foods, said although the project is not aimed at schools, there are ways in which it can collaborate with the education department to improve the feeding scheme.
Critics say that the feeding scheme in its present form does not contain the requisite nutrients. Recently, the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union hinted at commissioning food experts to look into the nutritional content of the food provided to learners.
Said Makena: “The nutritional value of what is being offered to learners needs more consideration…We would like a situation where all stakeholders such as departments of education, social welfare and food specialists could come together to assess the current [feeding scheme] programme with a view to its enhancement.”
The project has also published a comprehensive recipe book on South African indigenous foods, with information sourced mainly from rural women who have knowledge of various foods found in their regions.
Makena said four processing centres had been established in KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, North West and Limpopo, specialising in products prevalent in their province.
The University of Fort Hare, through its national heritage and cultural studies centre, has thrown its weight behind the idea. During the recent heritage month celebrations, the centre’s Vuyani Booi said: “Indigenous foods are healthy, healing, contain no preservatives and have rich cultural significance.” Booi called for the food to be packaged, branded and commercialised.
Food source
Nyakafatane: a highly nutritious dried, pre-cooked mix consisting of maize, beans wheat and sorghum.
Potele pre-mix: a highly nutritious mix of dried leaves (morogo) and maize.
Xigugu biscuits: made from yellow maize and peanuts.
Dipabi powder: a roasted, finely milled wheat product that is a great energy booster.
Amadumbe crisps: made from a potato-like amadumbe tuber.
Lerotse jam: made from lerotse, a wild melon.