Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNSOURCE) – In an unforeseen turn of events, the preparation and distribution of school meals were delayed on Monday 4th September 2023 at Primary and Secondary Schools around St. Kitts due to maintenance work carried out during the summer vacation.
According to Mr. Leon Willams, Director of the School Meal Feeding Program, part of the maintenance work included giving the Needmust Estate based center a fresh coat of paint. While the painting aspect was successfully completed prior to the reopening of school, proper ventilation measurers were not employed. This oversight led to the accumulation of paint fumes, rendering the building unsuitable for the workers to operate safely in.
As a result, the Director and his team were compelled to seek an alternative location for meal preparation. This unexpected challenge exacerbated the situation, causing the interruption in serving meals to the students who had returned eager to resume their studies.
Considering this, Mr. Williams expressed regret over the inconvenience caused “We understand the importance of the healthy and tasty meals for our students, and we sincerely apologize for the delay in meal provision. Unfortunately, the accumulation of paint fumes due to poor airflow made it impossible for our staff to carry out their duties within the building.”
Fortunately, a temporary solution was arranged, and an alternative facility was sourced, allowing meal preparation and delivery to be carried out.
While, the unexpected delay was unfortunate, the Director assures parents and guardians that measures are being taken to prevent such incidents from occurring again in the future.
Mr. Williams stated that his ministry is grateful for the patience and understanding shown by students and their families adding that, operations at the Needmust site has returned to normalcy and at news time today (September 5th, 2023) students around the island received their nutritious meals on time.
He ended by reiterating that lessons learned by the incident were taken onboard and appropriate measures will be put in place, noting that the School Meal Feeeding Program remains committed to providing healthy meals as well as maintaining a safe place to prepare meals.
Since the Program’s inception in 1982 by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, it has successfully provided healthy and tasty meals to primary and secondary school students.
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