By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – THE Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development has trained master cooks on how to maintain hygiene and judicious use of resources under the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme.

Besides, they are also to be trained on how to manage the resources given to them by the government to save for themselves in addition to each of the master cooks training at least twenty other cooks to sustain the federal government’s school feeding program.

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 Speaking during the training, the Edo state Team lead, Bello John, said the trainees are expected to learn the skills of identifying potential hazards to food safety and apply the principles in food sanitation and good personal hygiene.

He said “The cooks would be trained on maintaining a safe and hygienic environment, food procurement, food costing, kitchen portion control, menu standardization and financial Literacy which include, record keeping, anti-corruption measures, forming cooperatives self-empowerment among others”.

 He said the minister in charge of the ministry, Sadiya Umar-Farouq is passionate about the vulnerable person, hence the school feeding programme.

 Also speaking Edo state focal person on social investment programme,  Osiyuwamen Aladeselu, said Edo state government is about to ensure the extension of the program to other local governments in the state yet to be captured and re-commence the school feeding programme in Edo state.

   She said the state currently engaged 179 cooks to cook for 15, 679 pupils in 146 schools in the local governments being used as pilot schemes in the state.

   She said the training would help the present cooks as well as those that would join the programme when it is scaled up to other local governments.