Nutrition Program

School Based Feeding Centers

When Shoulder to Shoulder began its presence in Santa Lucia over 20 years ago, the prevalence of under-nutrition was painfully obvious. Field testing for anemia, a basic test for malnutrition, confirmed high rates of nutritional deficiency, especially among young children.
In addition to exaggerating basic medical issues, malnutrition in early years of a child’s life can irreversibly affect his or her physical, mental, and behavioral development. Knowing the lifelong positive impact that nutrition could have on Santa Lucia’s children, one of Shoulder to Shoulder’s first steps was to begin a school-based feeding program in 15 communities surrounding its Santa Lucia medical clinic.
Food for the feeding program is purchased using private donations to Shoulder to Shoulder and distributed to community members. Each community, in turn, is expected to contribute the materials and labor to construct a kitchen and small storage area at the recipient primary school. Once the kitchen is finished, fathers from the community work together to gather firewood and local mothers work on a rotating schedule to prepare meals. All food is produced and purchased locally and consists of beans, rice, tortillas, and a vitamin enriched soy porridge.
Today, the program provides a hot lunch to over 2,000 children each year. It continues to be a model Shoulder to Shoulder project and a continual proof that only by working side-by-side with local community members can we ever expect to make a truly lasting impact. Because of its simplicity, use of local materials, and its insistence on community participation, the school-based feeding program has been able to continually operate with a minimum of support from Shoulder to Shoulder for almost 20 years.

Your donation can make a lasting impact on a child’s life. Make yours now! Just $25 will feed a child for an entire year. Donate to the nutrition program today!

Please click here to learn more about the School Based Nutrition Program (PDF)

Nutrition Research

In parnership with the Mathile Institute for Human Nutrition, Shoulder to Shoulder has completed the first clinical investigation evaluating techniques and processes in determining and treating micronutriant deficiencies in children under 5 years old.