World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

The Rigoberto López Pérez school has 875 students and became part of the school feeding programme in 2008. Since then students attendance and class performance has improved significantly. "In the past children came to school without breakfast and did not perform well, they fell asleep and complained of headaches. Now they come on time and have better grades," said fourth grade teacher Ligia Lopez. In the photo, fourth grade students.

WFP Representative in Nicaragua Helmut W. Rauch and School Director Roger Salgado talked about the contribution of meals to school retention. "100% of the students finish the school year," said the Director. "Meals are also a great help for low income families in the area. Many parents are unemployed and have no money to provide adequate food for their children," he said.

WFP Representative Helmut W. Rauch, WFP Deputy Representative, Marc Regnault de la Mothe, WFP Logistics team members and third graders from the  Rigoberto López Pérez school in Managua pose for photo shot at the end of the opening ceremony of the second shipment of food to schools.

"Arriving with food on time at schools and in top condition is what guarantees the success of the distribution," said WFP Head of Logistics Sandra Torres. WFP Logistics Unit is providing technical support and advice to the Ministry of Education in the storage and preservation of food. From l-r, WFP Deputy Representative Marc Regnault de la Mothe, Torres, the Director of the School Nutrition Programme Norma Ortiz, and WFP Representative Helmut W. Rauch.

Sixth graders curiously look inside a container loaded with corn and beans that will be part of the school meals, which are cooked by parents in the schools. The third and final delivery of food is scheduled for August.

In this second delivery, more than 7,500 metric tons of food, including rice, beans, corn, fortified cereal, wheat flour and soybean oil, are being shipped to 10,000 public schools in Nicaragua. The government is investing more than US$7 million to guarantee students will receive a hot meal every day during the next three months.