Meals that Matter: Nourishing Knysna’s Youngest Learners
On Saturday, 14 June, we hosted a Meals that Matter workshop, bringing together principals and cooks from 38 Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres for a day of learning, connection, and good food.
The workshop focused on one of the most pressing needs facing children in Knysna: nutrition. Attendees participated in expert-led sessions on food hygiene, planning balanced meals for young children, dental health, and the correct preparation of nutrient-rich e’Pap porridge.
“This was an opportunity to introduce our new feeding scheme menu, while also acknowledging the vital work cooks do every day,” said KET’s General Manager, Angelina Smith. “Cooks are often behind the scenes and don’t usually attend our professional development workshops. We wanted to show them that children’s nutrition really matters -and so do they.”
Scheduled on a Saturday to avoid disrupting weekday responsibilities, the workshop was attended by 97% of the invited principals and cooks. In addition to training, each centre received practical kitchen supplies – including cutting boards, Wonderbags to conserve electricity, and resources to support child growth monitoring such as body weight scales, height charts, and measuring tapes.
KET’s feeding scheme, funded through donations from both individuals and organisations, currently supports over 1,360 children across Knysna by providing bi-weekly food vouchers to ECD centres where the need is greatest. Meals are prepared using a standardised, dietitian-approved menu to ensure children receive the nutrition they need to thrive.
“Many households are still struggling to provide a healthy meal for their kids” said a Principal in attendance, “Before I was on this feeding scheme we were struggling to keep up. This is an enormous gift.”
The need is urgent: one in four South African children under five are stunted due to chronic undernutrition. In Knysna, where 63% of the population lives on less than R1,500 a month, the feeding scheme helps ensure young children attending ECD programmes receive at least one cooked meal and two snacks a day. In addition, the children always have healthy breakfast thanks to e’Pap.
The “Meals that Matter” workshop aimed to reinforce a simple but powerful message: good food is more than just a meal—it’s the foundation for learning, growing, and reaching full potential.
