ReliefWeb

Highlights

WFP is continuing a project to link farmers to the national school meals programme in Trongsa District, as part of the School Nutrition Programme. One of the components of the project focuses on developing WFP’s innovative menu optimizer tool (‘PLUS’).

US$ 0.32 m six months (October 2019 - March 2020) net funding requirements

Operational Updates

• WFP’s menu optimizer tool (‘PLUS’) has been selected as one of the Global Best Practice projects to be showcased for the World Expo 2020 in Dubai. The Expo will highlight ‘PLUS’ in Bhutan as a simple yet effective project which is tangibly fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• WFP and the Ministry of Education’s School Health and Nutrition Division (SHND) are collaborating on a school menu optimizer tool, which provides nutritious meal options based on locally available foods and market prices. This tool will improve cost effectiveness of school meals. It will also meet the nutritional requirements for school-aged children, as identified by the Ministry of Health’s Department of Public Health (DoPH).

• WFP discussed the design and implementation of the Trongsa School and Hospital Feeding Programme (SHFP) pilot in a meeting with the SHFP Task Team, the Ministry of Agriculture and other Government stakeholders. This meeting highlighted many ways in which the different agencies could complement one another to successfully complete the pilot.

• WFP facilitated the visit of a team of officials from the Royal Government of Bhutan to various rice fortification and blending operations in India. The learnings from the visit will guide the Government in choosing the best approach for Bhutan and boost the nutritious value of rice in school meals. The nine day visit also included meeting Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK) suppliers to ensure that they meet the quality standards required for school meals.