Caterers under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) across all 16 regions have received the government’s feeding grant for the 2025/2026 academic year. This information was contained in a press statement issued by the GSFP and signed by Mr Siiba Alfa, Director of Public Relations.

The statement indicated that the fund was disbursed according to the number of days caterers cooked for the beneficiary pupils during the term.

Beneficiaries of GSFP include public basic school pupils, with a focus on those in kindergarten and primary schools across all 261 districts in Ghana, to support children from low-income, food-insecure, and underserved communities across all 261 districts in Ghana.

In 2025, the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) announced the immediate cancellation of contracts for all caterers working under the programme nationwide.

In an official statement issued on May 2, the GSFP directed that no existing caterer should prepare or serve meals for the third term of the 2024/2025 academic year.

“Please be informed that contracts of all caterers of the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) nationwide have been terminated with immediate effect. Accordingly, no existing caterer on the programme should cook for the third term of the 2024/2025 academic year,” the statement cautioned.

The Secretariat assured affected caterers that outstanding payments for services rendered during the second term would be settled.

“All outstanding arrears for the second term of the 2024/2025 academic year will be paid in due course,” it said.

The caterers, obviously distraught by the news, appealed, calling on President John Dramani Mahama to intervene and overturn the directive that abruptly ends their contracts, describing the decision as a breach of trust and a blow to their livelihoods.

Speaking during an interview on Channel One Newsroom on Friday, May 2, the Association’s President, Nana Otu Sakyi-Amo, voiced strong disapproval of the directive, noting that it has left many caterers facing severe financial strain with only a few days to the reopening of schools.

“We are still pleading with the president, we are all crying to the president to cancel this immediate termination of our contract,” she appealed. “We know that we have a contract up to August, and this is sudden news to us.”

She revealed that most caterers had already stocked up on food items in anticipation of the upcoming school term, set to begin on Tuesday, and were shocked by the sudden notice.

“We have bought our foodstuff, and school is reopening next week on Tuesday. We have prepared ourselves… We just heard they have cancelled our contracts just like that,” she said with concern.

However, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, in a few days after the caterers' appeal, announced that caterers who pre-financed food items in anticipation of the new school term will not be compensated for their losses.

Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV on Thursday, May 8, Dr. Lartey sympathised with the caterers but maintained that the government would not reimburse them for food bought without official instruction to begin cooking.

“I sympathise with the situation. There’s no room for compensation, but for the period that they have cooked, they will be paid,” she said.

She clarified that the decision was reached jointly and was not a unilateral government move but one guided by World Bank requirements.

“We are not doing this alone; we are doing it with the World Bank. There are some criteria and conditions to meet, and we didn’t want to be harsh on the caterers. In all honesty, most of them know they don’t have valid contracts,” she said.

She pointed out that after the last general elections, a directive from the then-program coordinator allowed caterers to keep cooking temporarily. This directive, issued during a transitional phase, caused some confusion.

“We are supposed to move to a digital recruitment system with the support of the World Bank, but because of the academic calendar, we could not implement it as swiftly as we would have liked. That’s why we are asking for time to transition smoothly; it doesn’t mean we should maintain the current system without reform.”

The caterers went ahead to seek intervention from traditional and religious leaders, including the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu.

Deputy PRO of the National School Feeding Caterers Association, Madam Margaret Larbi, revealed that the group has begun reaching out to influential figures across the country to help present their case.

“Our President said we have petitions to be sent. We’re trying to get in touch with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, to intervene,” she disclosed.

She further indicated that other respected voices, such as the Chief Imam, would also be approached to help mediate on behalf of the distressed caterers.

“So, we’re trying to get him to go and plead on our behalf. We’re trying to go to the Chief Imam. Tomorrow [Friday, May 9], we have a lot to do to send some petitions to other influential individuals in the country to be able to speak on our behalf,” she stated.

However, the Gender Minister, in reaction, explained that the cancellation was not to punish caterers but aimed at sanitising the programme.

Meanwhile the government announced an increase in meal fees from GHS 1.50 to GHS 2.00 as part of its reset agenda in 2025.

This marked a significant milestone as the last upward adjustment in meal price was in 2021 under the erstwhile Akufo-Addo-led administration, when the amount was raised from GH¢1.00 to GH¢1.20 per child per day. It was later raised to a cedi and fifty pesewas some months before 2025.

During a School Feeding Programme, stakeholder training session held in Tamale, Northern Region, on Friday, August 22, the National Coordinator of the Ghana School Feeding Programme, Hajia Fati Forgor, highlighted the government’s commitment to the programme, citing that arrears owed to caterers under the erstwhile government have been settled by the current government.

“Just a week or two ago, you heard that we had paid caterers who provided a service for the second term during the previous administration. (sic) During their time, it used to be GHS 1.50 per pupil. Today, they have also benefited from the reset of the school feeding program in Ghana by taking GHS 2 per pupil,” she said

She continued that efforts are underway to swiftly pay caterers who provided service in the last few days.

“As I speak to you, those of you who actually provided the service, data is being collated for us to see how quickly and fast we can pay caterers as quickly as possible, she added.

Hajia forgot to also send a passionate appeal to all parties and stakeholders to end internal conflicts and negative portrayals of the initiative, warning that such actions are discouraging potential partners from supporting the programme.

“Those of us who are fighting our colleagues, our own who have been assigned to their district, I want to plead with you. I'm begging you. Let's stop giving the wrong signal to the general public.

The program is not being funded by the government alone. We have partners who will always come out to support the school feeding program. But since we assumed office, we have been unable to get that because of the way we are portraying the whole situation on the ground. It is not helping us,” she noted.

She sent a word of caution to all caterers to duly exert their duties or risk losing their contracts, highlighting an end to some behaviours, such as caterers' failure to cook meals consistently, ghost cooking cases where caterers forged reports, claiming to have served meals when no cooking took place, as well as the cooking of highly malnutritious meals which often contained little to no proteins such as meat or fish or even vegetables. According to her, the days of improper supervision over their duties and lack of accountability for their services are over. Every caterer will be held accountable for their service. No cooking, no payment.

“If there's anybody in here who thinks that it's just a matter of getting the contract, but then you can do whatever you like with the program, then sorry, you have gotten the wrong opportunity because we will not tolerate that. Please, if you know you did not provide the service, do not expect any payment”, she affirmed.

The increase in meal price per child in the school feeding programme affirms the government’s commitment to enhancing the livelihoods of citizens and also to the broader good of the education framework in the country.

ince the current administration assumed office, the project has seen an increase in reach by 200000 pupils, with a thirty-three percent increase in budget allocation as well. Before 2025, the programme was serving an estimated 4 million pupils with a budget of GHS 1.344 billion.

However, this year, GSFP has increased its beneficiaries to 4 million pupils f

As of 2025, the GSFP serves approximately 4.2 million children daily, marking a significant increase from the 4 million beneficiaries recorded in 2024. This growth of 200,000 new pupils within a single year reflects the government’s commitment to expanding the programme’s reach and ensuring that more vulnerable children have access to daily meals at school.

Also, the Capitation Grant, which supports school operational expenses, has seen a substantial increase under this government. The grant rose by 73.2%, from GH¢84 million to GH¢145.5 million, nearly twice the allocation of the previous one, further enhancing the overall environment in which these children learn.