No fewer than 32 food vendors selected from across the 16 local government areas of Kwara have been trained for the school feeding programme in the state.
Reports have it that the training was organised by the National Documentation and Training of Cooks on the National Home-Grown Feeding Programme of the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management and Social Development, Wednesday in Ilorin.
The Area Manager of the Ilorin Office of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Mrs Temitayo Quadri, said the trainees were selected from the 16 local government areas of the state.
Quadri said that the institute would train 32 persons, adding that they expect the trainees to put in their best and develop themselves.
She urged the participants to cook with a touch of professionalism, passion and good hygiene with the inclusion of the components of a balanced diet.
“This programme for the National School Feeding Programme that is facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, and Industrial Training Fund (ITF), is aimed at training the vendors for the cooking programme.
“The participants have gone through training in the past but we tagged this one Train-the-trainers because we actually want something better that will give them a knowledge of how to cook with good hygiene to benefit the children,” she said.
She encouraged the cooks not to relent on their efforts and allow their work to speak for them wherever they were.
Some of the participants expressed satisfaction with the training, saying that the capacity building had enlightened them on methods of cooking under hygienic conditions in the interest of the school children.
Mrs Zainab Aliu from Patigi said “we have learnt a lot about personal hygiene and how to prepare foods in the best way for the children.
“We have to take care of food items and everything we use to make a good safe diet for children.
“It is a good programme. I gained a lot from it. There are a lot of benefits in the programme.”
Madam Omotope Babatunde from Irepodun Local Government Area said the training was beneficial to her, especially on how best to prepare a balanced diet food for school children.