Ever wondered what students eat at STA? Ever wondered how we feed 92 children each school day? Read on to find out...

In Tanzania and throughout the world many students go to school hungry and stay hungry for the whole school day. In order to learn, we believe that students need to eat healthy and nutritious food. At STA, we provide each student with porridge for breakfast and a hot meal at lunch time. It's a big job feeding 92 students. Our cooks start early in the morning chopping, mixing and preparing meals for the students.

At 1:30 92 students come charging down the hill towards the kitchen, ready for their lunch. The older students prepare the water for washing hands. Everyone forms line, washes their hands and then waits for their plate of food.

The students eat inside a thatched roof circular banda. Students find a spot on the floor or along the bench. We usually have rice, spaghetti or ugali (maize flour cooked with water to a dough-like consistency) with sides of meat sauce, beans or spinach. Each lunch is served with a piece of fruit such as banana, avocado, watermelon and pineapple. Below are some examples of the food we eat at STA.

Rice and Beans with a piece of watermelon.

 Ugali with a meat and tomato sauce and a side of matembele (cooked sweet potato leaves).

The students eat most of the meals with their right hand (even spaghetti!). This is what most students do at home and is very normal in Tanzania. Ugali is almost easier to eat with your hand as it is quite sticky and gets stuck to a fork or spoon.

After eating, each student has to wash their plate and then they can go and play.

Wanafunzi questions

1. What do you eat at school? Do you bring lunch or is it served at school?

2. What are the differences between your lunch and the lunch at STA?

3. Prepare your ideal lunch menu for a week. Present your menu to your class.

4. Make some Tanzanzian food. Below are some recipes you could use.

Chapati http://tasteoftanzania.com/blog/tanzanian-chapati/

Ugali http://www.whats4eats.com/grains/ugali-recipe

Maharage (Beans) http://tasteoftanzania.com/blog/swahili-beans-maharage-ya-nazi/