Moshi, TZ – Tupendane forms School Breakfast Farm Task Force to improve food self-reliance – 1 Jun 2017

Tupendane has collaborated with local schools to form a new entity in the community: the School Breakfast Farm Task Force. The objective of the Task Force is to enable students to grow food for school breakfast from Self-Reliant School Breakfast Farms. The Task Force is responsible for organizing parents to contribute labor for clearing, cultivating, and preparing land. The parents’ work stages students for success planting corn, beans, bananas, and other crops.

Tupendane used to collaborate with School Committees at each school. School Committees have a high level authority but they are large groups – 20 to 30 people – and they meet infrequently. The Task Force is designed to maintain the same level of authority but be more flexible and focus responsibility on a smaller number of interested parties.

The Task Forces are backed by the full authority of the School Committees for all matters related to the breakfast farms. Each one has just 4 members who quickly respond to any issues and take responsibility for organizing parents.

Early in the farms’ development, the Task Force model is already proving effective. Parents cleared over 3 acres of land at Mwangaria and Maendeleo Primary Schools in just a few days and the Task Forces have been instrumental in managing water usage for efficient growing.

The Task Forces’ continued support will be a key to success for the students to grow their own school breakfast.