School Nutrition Program: A Sustainable National Strategy for the Health of Generations

Al-Masa'fah added that the program targets about half a million students this year, including about 400,000 students benefiting from high-protein biscuits and dates, and about 100,000 students benefiting from healthy meals.

He explained that the components of the healthy meal have not changed compared to previous years and include a pastry, a piece of fruit, and a piece of vegetable.

Regarding the operational structure of the program, Al-Masa'fah indicated that the number of production kitchens is 10, without an increase from previous years, while the services of healthy meals and high-protein biscuits cover 35 education and training directorates.

He pointed out that the number of feeding days will remain the same, with 60 days for healthy meals and 50 days for high-protein biscuits.

Al-Masa'fah also noted that the program contributes to supporting local employment by providing 356 direct job opportunities within the production kitchens, confirming that achieving the full targets of the strategy by 2030 is linked to providing the necessary financial allocations.

For its part, the General Organization for Food and Drug confirmed that its regulatory role includes monitoring licensed food establishments and production kitchens, and verifying their compliance with health and technical requirements, ensuring food safety during all stages of its circulation, starting from the sources of food materials, through preparation, manufacturing, and storage processes, to transportation and distribution.

The organization added that the supervision also includes verifying the personal hygiene of workers and the cleanliness of equipment and facilities, and taking necessary actions against violators in accordance with applicable legislation, within the framework of integration with the school nutrition program.

It explained that the food circulated in school cafeterias is subject to supervision to verify compliance with health instructions and the list of permitted foods, with regulatory and legal actions taken against violators.

It emphasized the need to rely on reliable and licensed food sources, and to prevent the preparation or sale of products containing meat and its derivatives, whether processed or unprocessed, as well as the prohibition of selling energy drinks in school cafeterias.

The organization also indicated that the supervision includes supply chains, cooling, transportation, and storage processes, to ensure the protection of food from contamination or spoilage, and to maintain appropriate temperatures for the nature of each product, ensuring its safety and quality until it reaches the students.

The organization also verifies that workers dealing directly with food meet the necessary requirements and health certificates, while the laboratory aspect relies on a risk assessment approach, allowing for the collection of samples and their analysis according to approved plans or when justified, to ensure that food materials comply with approved specifications and standards.

For his part, Dr. Sufwan Dabbaneh, Director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Directorate at the Ministry of Health, said that the recommendations of the National Higher Committee on Nutrition regarding school meals were based on the results of the National Nutrition and Micronutrient Survey for 2019.

He explained that the recommendations included adjusting the concentration of some micronutrients, including vitamin D and zinc, in addition to using standardized flour in meal preparation.

Dabbaneh pointed out that the survey results showed a variation in nutritional indicators among children in different regions of the Kingdom, providing a health database that can be relied upon in assessing needs and determining priorities for nutritional and health interventions.

He explained that the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development oversees meal distribution operations in cooperation with the Royal Health Awareness Society, while the beneficiary areas are determined based on indicators that rely on household income and poverty levels.

In the same context, Dr. Muhammad Al-Ma'aya'a, Director of the School Health Directorate at the Ministry of Health, said that the Ministry is monitoring the nutritional status of students through body measurements of height and weight.

He explained that the measurements of first-grade students are conducted in health centers, while class teachers in public schools measure students in other grades, with students who suffer from overweight, obesity, or underweight being referred to the nearest health center to evaluate their cases and take appropriate health and nutritional measures.