School feeding caterers to incur loses as gov't truncates contracts after earlier contrary decision

Caterers of the School Feeding Program want the government to honor their contracts. They request to continue until the end of the 2024/2025 academic year.

On May 2, a letter ended all caterer contracts. This was despite an earlier directive allowing them to continue.

Gifty Asamoah, president of the Concerned School Feeding Caterers Association, expressed concern. She said members already bought food for the term.

“We purchased fish, groundnuts, and other items from Ejura,” she stated. “We planned to share these among us but had to stop delivery after receiving new information. We have lost a lot of money.”

The caterers decided to suspend services after the government change. However, they reversed this decision when told they could continue through the academic year.

Asamoah noted that the government's abrupt contract termination is troubling. “After the change of government, we began removing our utensils from schools,” she explained. “But we were informed we could continue until year-end. I returned my utensils after that.”

The caterers received notice of their termination on May 2. This came just three days before the new term started.

At that time, they were preparing meals for basic school pupils and had already bought food supplies.

In Krapa, one caterer had procured most needed items for the term. They bought dried fish, vegetables, and canned goods in large quantities.

Now there are concerns that food will spoil if contracts are not fulfilled.

“We plead with the President,” Asamoah said. “If we had known sooner, we wouldn’t have shopped so much.” She added that it was too late for them now.

The Progressive School Feeding Caterers Association in Ashanti Region took a group loan for bulk purchases. They halted transport of goods to Kumasi after learning about contract cancellation.

They worry suppliers may not refund money spent on produce.