School Feeding Program Local Procurement Focus Groups

Below are 16 focus groups translated to English and organized by topic. All were conducted between September 2016 and September 2017 as part of an evaluation of a WFP/MENFP local procurement school feeding program in Nippes. To view the precise locations and lists of participants, go here.

Here is the list of topics. You can use the phrase with hashtag to do keyword searches.

#PRAISE FOR THE PROGRAM

#HISTORY OF SCHOOL CANTEENS

#PARENTAL FEEDING

#IMPACT OF PROGRAM ON CHILD BEHAVIOR and SCHOLASTIC PERFORMANCE

#BEFORE THE CANTEEN EXISTED

#FEEDING NOW THAT THERE IS A CANTEEN

#BUYING FOOD AT SCHOOL

#NEGATIVE IMPACT OF FEEDING

#HOW THE FEEDING PROGRAM FUNCTIONS

#TIME OF FEEDING

#SCHOOL FEEDING PREFERRED FOODS

#SCHOOL VS HOME COOKED FOOD

#PROCESS OF MAKING THE MEAL AND TIME IT TAKES

#CONSISTENCY OF PROGRAM AND DAILY FEEDING

#FOOD VARIETY

#SCHOOL FEEDING PREFERRED FOODS

#SCHOOL VS HOME COOKED FOOD

#FEES

#AMOUNTS

#SCARCITY OF MONEY

#UNDERSTANDING OF THE PURPOSE OF FEES

#PROBLEMS PAYING FEES

# COLLECTING FEES

#STRATEGIES TO COLLECT FEES

#LOCAL PROCUREMENT: KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND CAPACITY

#PROVENANCE

#BEING A FARMER

#WOMEN ARE FARMERS TOO

#CROP TYPES

#SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES (#BUYING GARDENS)

#DECLINE IN LIVELIHOOD

#TENURE

#PROCESSING

#INPUTS

#WORKERS

#CHILDREN AND WORK

#TRADING

#TRADER BUSINESS DESCRIPTIONS

#LOVE TRADING

#CREDIT

#MEN SELLING

#WOMEN SELLING

#MEASURE

#VALUE OF LOCAL FOODS

#IMPORTED vs. LOCAL FOOD

#LOCAL CAPACITY

#PURCHASING LOCALLY

#PILOT PROGRAM PURCHASING EXPERIENCE

#ASSOCIATIONS

#WANTING AID

#THE SWEET & SALTY DILEMMA

#SALT-FOOD

#SWEET-FOOD AND WORMS

#REFUSALS TO FEED SWEET-FOOD

#SOLUTIONS TO THE SWEET & SALTY DILEMMA

#ALTERNATIVE FOODS

#Summary Example for alternative foods

#SUMMARY OF COMPLAINTS, PROBLEMS, and FRUSTRATIONS

#FOOD QUALITY

#FOOD QUANTITY

#COLLECTING FEES

#MAKING THE FOOD

#PAY FOR THE COOKS

#NOT ENOUGH TIME

#MILK

#FOOD DOES NOT TASTE GOOD

#NOT ENOUGH FOOD

#PAYING WHEN CHILD IS ABSENT

#PROBLEMS GETTING WOOD

#SUMMARY STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS PAYING FOR MATERIALS

#IMPACT OF HURRICANE MATTHEW (OCTOBER 4TH 2016)

#THE ISSUE OF TEACHING AND TEACHER’S PAY

#SUMMARY STATEMENT ON TEACHERS ROLE AND PAY

#ROLE OF SCHOOL DIRECTOR AND PARENTAL RELATIIONS WITH HIM

#CONTINUATION OF THE PROGRAM

#RECOMMENDATIONS

#HELPING WITH PRODUCTION AD ACCESS TO CAPITAL

#GETTING THE CHLDREN AND SCHOOL MORE INVOLVED

#OTHER PRODUCTS

#PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT\

#FOOD QUALITY/TASTE

#PAYING COOKS

#MATERIALS

#TURNING THE PROGRAM OVER TO A THIRD PARTY

#RULES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

#PURCHASING LOCALLY

#APATHY

#PRAISE FOR THE PROGRAM

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #6- (female; 58 years; Commerce; 4th grade; 6 children; 6 children in program). My name is Blank_D. I have 6 children in the school. I have 5 here and I have one in SCHOOL_4. The feeding program helps me a lot. What makes me say that, I do some trading in the [school] yard. It’s not enough to give all my children what they need….. I can tell you that the canteen helps me a great, great, great deal. When the children come back from recreation, they get fed right there. The food helps me a great, great deal.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #4- (female; 37 years; Commerce; No schooling; 5 children; 2 children in program). I have 5 children, I have four children who are in school, three of them are in a school with a feeding program. Five children, and they got no father. Their father died. It’s a little money that I borrowed from the State that has allowed me to manage with those children… The canteen is useful, when they come home they’ve already eaten. I go and do what I can so that I have some money for [to feed] them later. I’m telling you [WFP] thank you very much.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #9- (female; 64 years; Commerce; ;4th grade; 4 children; 1 grandchild in program). … The canteen is useful to me. The little money I make can’t help those children. I have three children who are in the canteen and I have three who are not in the canteen program. It helps me. Sometimes I get up, if I put a coin in their hands, that coin can’t do anything for them. I’m telling you the canteen helps me a lot. I say thank you for that.

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Participant #7: (Female; 53 years old; Farmer; 3rd grade; 6 children; 2 children in program). Yes, [the canteen is] good, because sometimes the children go to school without eating. Now, when they reach school, they are going to get fed. It’s very good.

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Participant #5: (Female; 45 years old; Market woman; 9th grade; 2 children; 2 children in program). Yes. Food is useful to the children. It is useful to me because after the hurricane, you know there are problems and misery. All our gardens are destroyed, we have nothing. But when the children go to school, they get fed. That is quite good.

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #1: (Male; 57 years old; School director, oversee canteen; Philo; 1 child; No child in the program). First of all, we thank WFP, ROPANIP, and BND, the team that is working for the school feeding program. We are satisfied with the team. They give local products. It is a great satisfaction. Because they could give us lousy imported foods. It is wrong for the children. The local foods have vitamins and protein for the children and that allows for school performance to be raised.….We are happy when there is free lunch…. Everything about the feeding program is good.

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #10: (Male; 51 years old; School director, oversee canteen; 11th grade; 6 children; 6 children in the program). Well, the school feeding program works good. It works good. It works good and it is good for the school. … The school feeding program works good. The parents make weak contributions, but the school feeding program works good.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #8–(female; 64 years; Commerce; ;4th grade; 4 children; 1 grandchild in program). The canteen program is really a good thing. Like I told Natacha before, as soon as children enter the school, it’s enough for them to see the smoke from the kitchen and they get excited. You understand?

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #6- (female; 58 years; Commerce; 4th grade; 6 children; 6 children in program). How does it help you? If for example you have 6 children. If I give them each 25 Goud. That’s 30 dollars. But since they’ve had food at the school, I finish giving them a little food in the morning, I give them each 5 Goud. The rest of the money stays with me. It’ll stay with me because I won’t spend it all. Because the canteen is useful.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): For me, the school feeding program, how should I say? I am happy with the program. Here is why. Sometimes the school starts at 7:00 a.m. sharp. The children come from way up [the mountain]. You don’t have time to make anything to give them. With 10:00 feeding, the children are ok. Now, come recreation they already give them food to eat. It’s a protection for parents.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #5: (female; 32 years; Commerce; None; 7 children; 1 child program): The canteen program is truly, truly a good thing, truly. Even more so because of the time change. You don’t even have time to make food in the morning. But when the time arrives, as soon as it’s 10:00 the food is cooked, eh recreation, they feed them. It’s very good.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #4: (female; 32 years; farmers; 5th year fundamental; 3 children; 2 children in the program): …We are very happy now that they gave the canteen…

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #3- (female; 34 years; Commerce; 8th grade; 2 children; 1 child in program). Yes, he [their child] has brought us food and showed us how good it tastes. Like when there is stew. He told me, ‘drink the stew, I don’t like starchy vegetables.’ [laughs]. Sometimes he takes a little bowl to his father and shows him. That’s in the national school there. As soon as you hear him get up in the morning [he’s out the door], I’m the one who has to run after him to give him a coin. The canteen helps a lot.

Focus Group 7: Members of Rural School Kitchen Committees: Participant #6: (female; 58 years of age; Commerce and Farmer; no schooling; 8 children; 2 children in the feeding program; 14 months in committee kitchen). What is good about the project? The food is very good…. But the food is good not only for the children. For us too because there are parents whose children go to school [without eating] and they know that when they get to school they will find something [to eat]. You see how it is good for us and for the children?

What us parents can say, it’s better for us than for the children because it’s good food they send to the children. They send for us. It’s for us because we are parents. Generally [spoken in French], when children leave their house [in the morning] you should find something to give them. But, because they know that at school, director BLANK_A, he will find food. I say, ‘’Sweat-heart, my little child, go bath. Get dressed and go to school. You’ll eat something at school. You don’t see that your Mama doesn’t have anything darling. Mama doesn’t have anything.’ Is it not good for us?

Focus Group 5, Farmers from Salaniac; Participant #6: (male; 35 years old; farmer; 3rd grade; 4 children; No children in the program). What do I think of the program? The program is an activity that helps the children. So, there are parents who don’t give their child anything to eat to go to school and, sometimes, even you may not have enough to feed your own child before they go to school. Sometimes what you give them to eat is not enough to keep them for the day. When the children go to school and they get something to eat, that helps you as parent. It is a wonderful activity.

Focus Group 5, Farmers from Salaniac; Participant #3: (male; 26 years old; farmer; 2nd grade; No children; No children in the program). I like the program because I am a farmer. Since there is a place that I can directly send my products without any problem that is good.

Focus Group 5, Farmers from Salaniac; Participant #9: (male; 22 years old, Farmer, Student; 10th grade; None children; No children in the program). It will be very helpful even though I do not have children yet. The hot meal will not only be for the children, but the parents also. Sometimes you might get up and have just an egg and a banana to give to the child or a piece of bread. Some parents give their child some money. But when the child gets food at school, that helps the parents save money. It’s a good thing.

Participant #6: (Male; 66 years old; Farmer, Pastor; 6th grade; 3 children; No child in the program). It is a good program because they are helping us. Especially for the children. Sometimes they leave home without eating and when they arrive they receive substance, they receive food. And it helps us. It helps us as parents. Sometimes the parents don’t have anything at all to give to the children. Do you understand? But when they arrive in school they will get something to eat. To me this a great thing.

Focus Group 2: Rice Farmers Kwaku; Participant #5 (Male; 50 years old; Farmer; 3rd grade; 3 children; No child in the program): A program is not good if it doesn’t get to the people. If the program does what it has said it would do, it is good. I believe that WFP provides different types of food for all the schools…. I appreciate that because I am a Haitian citizen. WFP is doing it for Haiti, it’s not doing it someplace else. It’s for our children, our friends, and our ancestors. WFP is helping. I really appreciate that.

***

Focus group 12, Market Women/Traders (Ti Rivye), Public [Some participants are talking together with the monitor] “Yes, we do not have cook for the children. Yes, if we give them bread and coffee they can wait for the food at school.

***

Socio-Dig: If it was you who was managing the program, would you leave it like it is or would you change something about it?

Focus Group 13, Market Women/Traders (Dupuy), Participant #6 (Female; 40 years-old; 6 children; None; Trader): For me, it’s not bad. It’s good for the children. They make food, they give them nutrition, that’s good. They do not spice the food with bouillon cubes. They give them vegetables every time. They have different foods that they give them and with juice, food that doesn’t go through a lot of shipment and storage, that doesn’t have chemicals in it. It’s good for the children. Me, I don’t see that there is anything wrong with it. It’s very good.

Socio-Dig: It’s very good. OK.

Focus Group 13, Market Women/Traders (Dupuy), Participant #6 (Female; 40 years-old; 6 children; None; Trader): The canteen that is in the school, it’s very good for the children because it’s natural food, they give natural food. …

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): When they do something to give children food, it helps the parents a lot.

Socio-Dig: Umm.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Parents cannot have the money to give their children to go to school with. But because of the canteen, they can give their head a rest. If a single worm were to kill a child in the school, it would….

***

Socio-Dig: Do you like the canteen?

Children: Yesss!

Socio-Dig: Why? Let’s begin with you. What does the canteen do for you and for your parents?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): It does a lot for us. Because there are some days, I go to school, my mother goes to sell, she doesn’t leave any money for us. That, that can give me a program because when I get to school I can’t eat. But now, even if they don’t prepare the food early in the morning, at least we don’t go home hungry.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Me, sometimes I finish bathing, I put my uniform on, my mother and father don’t have anything to give me. I go to the kitchen at my house, get a little pebble of salt and put it under my tongue. After that I go to school. Because, because I take the little pebble of salt, that’s what helps me get through day until they feed us. As soon as they feed us, I’m good to go. After that I go home.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): After that they ring the bell and I go to my house.

Socio-Dig: OK. You go to your house.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Me, my mother often gets up in the morning and she doesn’t have anything to give me. I say, “You don’t have anything to give me, I am going.” When I get to school I can’t do anything. I sit in class and we work. Joking keeps me going. Now, when they let us go for recess, even though my mother didn’t give me anything, I eat. I have friends, their mother gave them some money to buy fried dough, I go into the classroom and eat with them.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): But before they let us go, they feed us. If I leave early…. [Sound a push cart passing]

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): There is a way that the canteen is very useful to me, and it helps my parents too. Even that doesn’t make me afraid. When I get home from school, they may not even give me money, they may not even have food, because there are no days when we don’t get fed at school. That makes me not afraid. I just study.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): When they have the canteen, I eat when my mother isn’t there. When my mother comes home she makes the food I eat.

***

Socio-Dig: At 2 o’clock. Does the canteen help you guys study more?

Children: Yes, yes.

Socio-Dig: It make us do better in school?

Children: Yes, yes.

Socio-Dig: Really?

Children: Yes, yes.

Socio-Dig: Why?

Children: Because it helps us. When we eat, when our stomachs are full we don’t get discouraged. We more…

Socio-Dig: You work more?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: OK, do you think the canteen should stay?

Children: Yesss!

Socio-Dig: If they were to say that they were going to take the canteen away, what would you do?

Children: That would bother us a lot. That would discourage us a lot.

Socio-Dig: It would discourage you. OK. Each person can say something.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Because it would discourage us, because at about 11 o’clock you see that before you get out of school you’re going to eat. Sometimes our parents don’t have money to give us. We go to the canteen, we eat, we’re satisfied. When we get home, we aren’t so worried about food because we’ve already eaten. But if they were to take the canteen away, it would bother us a lot.

Socio-Dig: It would bother you a lot, OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Like, sometimes food is useful because when it’s about 11 o’clock we make food. Because food makes us study a lot, makes us understand what the professor is saying. Sometimes when they had not yet made the canteen we were hungry, the professor would be working on the chalk board, we couldn’t even follow him, we got discouraged.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): If they were to take away the canteen it would discourage me a lot. And it’s not just me that it would bother. It would bother all the children. But there are times when they make food, when I eat fired dough, I don’t worry about food. I go get it, I get it and eat it, but it’s not really what I would even eat it.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): And if it was stew that I took, sometimes I would get it and eat the tubers without taking the bean sauce.

Socio-Dig: OK. And you?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): If they would take away the school canteen it would be like a terrible thing they did to us. It’s not only us, but also the parents because it helps them a great, great, great deal. When our parents have the means to give us 5 goud, they know that we’re going to eat something at school no matter what. That’s all I have to say.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): If they were to take the canteen away, it would not be good for my parents.

Socio-Dig: OK. Children, I say thank you. I would like to take a photo with you. Can we do that?

Children: Yes!

***

Focus Group 14, School Directors Before Pilot, Participant #5 (1 Child; School director; 19 years employment): Well, what I can say, eh, let’s begin in a general way to get to the point. The school canteen helps us in several ways. It permits the children to learn, that’s something we all observe. Because when children are hungry, as my colleague was just saying there, they don’t eat, they don’t listen when you speak to them… I lose time teaching them. And when the child gets home, if he doesn’t find something to eat, he won’t pick up a book to study. So, the next day when you expect him to come and recite his lesson he doesn’t know it. He didn’t do his homework. He doesn’t know. But when the child gets fed he can’t tell the teacher that he was hungry, after all, he ate in front of the teacher. So, the dividends in terms of learning increase with the feeding. The parents too, you know the economic situation here in Haiti, when they know that the child got fed at school they don’t have to spend so much time trying to find something to feed them before they come to school, because they’ll get fed at school. That’s the advantage of the canteen I’m trying to show you. And what’s more, us too, the teachers and the director, we sense the improvement.

Unidentified Participant: They’re better, they’re better.

Focus Group 14, School Directors Before Pilot, Participant #5 (1 Child; School director; 19 years employment): My experience when I wasn’t yet in the canteen program, I always said that come Friday, there is a bogey man in the school. It’s a way of speaking to explain that children don’t come to school on Friday. There’s a bogey man that’s devouring the children on Fridays because it’s four days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, but come Friday, the children don’t come to school. The parents are happy to say it’s the weekend, there is no school. But now, it’s my impression that if we had a canteen on Saturday, the children would come to school. The rain is pouring down, no one can go out, I get to school at 7:00 am or 7:15 am, well at 6:30 am the children are already in the school yard. As soon as I arrive they’re yelling good morning director and at the same time they go and check what’s happening behind the school. When they get to school they say, ‘what’s going on, there’s no cooking fire yet today? There’s no food today?

[Laughter]

They say, ‘no, I saw the cook…that means there’s food, just wait…’ When they come they see that bad weather is coming, 15 or 20 of them have arrived, they say, ‘let’s pray to God that the rain gets worse now, so the rest of the students don’t come so we get more to eat.

[Laughter]

That shows you how the canteen is useful. If there was no canteen it would very much affect the students. It would really disturb them. For example, I just said a little while ago what would happen if there was no food on the fire? Well, let’s suppose they didn’t make food. Now, you would have to give the children something to replace the hot meal. It can’t be something sweet. If it’s something sweet I think it could make the children sick, like a type of worm or something like that. But when the children eat salt-food I think it can help his body and permit him to study better.

***

Focus Group 15, School Directors After Pilot, Participant #1 (Male; 55 years of age; 8 Children; 10th grade; Teacher): Well, me, in the morning, when I see the children come to school, the first place they look is in the kitchen to see if there’s a fire. As soon as they see there’s fire you see that they’re happy. Sometimes I’m in the office and I hear children say, ‘teacher, my stomach hurts.’ ‘Your stomach hurts? You didn’t eat this morning?’ ‘No.’ Or I send them to get some fried dough from the vendor while they wait for the food to cook. And when they don’t have any food, you look at how much I spend per month. The vendor, I must pay her for fried dough that I owe. Why? For the children. When the children come complaining, you can’t let them go like that. …

#HISTORY OF SCHOOL CANTEENS

***

Socio-Dig: For how long have you had school canteens in the area?

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Participant #5: (Female; 45 years old; Market woman; 9th grade; 2 children; 2 children in program). Two years.

Socio-Dig: Two years. You always have food?

Public: Yes, yes, yes we still find food.

***

Socio-Dig: Alright. Before the WFP school feeding program came, was there any free lunch program in the schools?

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #10: (Male; 51 years old; School director, oversee canteen; 11th grade; 6 children; 6 children in the program). No, there was not, only WFP. Only WFP. Before WFP there was nothing.

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #5: (Male; 41 years old; School teacher, oversee canteen; University; 1 child; No child in the program). It seems there were other schools that benefited from the program. No, we did not benefit yet.

***

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers, Public: We did not have one at all.

Socio-Dig: Ok. You did not have one at all. Ok What difference is there between BND and WFP? Ok you can talk number 6.

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #6: (Female; 46 years old; School teacher; Rheto; 1 child; 1 child in the program). The difference is because WFP was not local products. It was foreign products they used to give. It is good for the children to eat natural [local] foods. It is good for their health.

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #10: (Male; 51 years old; School director, oversee canteen; 11th grade; 6 children; 6 children in the program). However it’s only WFP. If it’s WFP, at that time it’s not BND that used to give it, but WFP.

***

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #1: (female; 55 years; Commerce; 5th year; 3 children; 3 children program): Myself, the school where my child is at in ZON_1, since the school was there, they’ve had a canteen. Regardless that WFP had not yet begun with their canteen program, the school always had a canteen.

***

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): …Like a long time ago, there was still a school canteen. But at that time, they used to send several types of food. It wasn’t just rice. They sent cracked wheat. They sent wheat flour. They sent rice. They sent milk. In those days, if today they cooked rice, tomorrow they cooked cracked wheat.

Socio-Dig: Ok. But when you said that they always had food, did they use local or imported food?

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): No, at that time it was a different priest who was responsible for the Parish. His name was Machan. I believe he died.

Socio-Dig: But it was local produce?

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): Yes.

Socio-Dig: Foreign?

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): The Priest/Bishop who always sent that aid. That aid came but seems that the priest only sent rice. Because the same as with Fondelyann that’s the only food they gave the children. It was only on Wednesday that they fed stew.

***

Socio-Dig: That was a good thing.

Public: Yes. They used to give them early.

Socio-Dig: They gave it early? After that, did they give anything else? Or was it only that?

Focus Group 7: Members of Rural School Kitchen Committees: Participant #5: (female; 32 years of age; Commerce and Farmer; 3rd grade; 4 children; 4 children in feeding program; 3 months on committee kitchen). Yes, they used to give food. They gave potato porridge. They passed each class and they gave the children crackers.

#PARENTAL FEEDING IN MORNING, FEEDING BEFORE THE PROGRAM, SNACK MONEY, AND FEEDING IN AFTERNOON

#IMPACT OF PROGRAM ON CHILD BEHAVIOR and SCHOLASTIC PERFORMANCE

#YES IT HAS HELPED

Socio-Dig: Ok.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #6- (female; 58 years; Commerce; 4th grade; 6 children; 6 children in program). I can tell you that when there was not a canteen, the children, sometimes you would hear them complaining of stomachaches. As soon as they would get to school their stomachs are aching. What’s wrong is that they’re hungry. But since there is a canteen we don’t have that anymore. The children learn very well.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #8- (female; 64 years; Commerce; ;4th grade; 4 children; 1 grandchild in program).…Me, I have a young girl, a child who isn’t yet 14 years of age. As soon as she gets up, she combs her hair, she get’s dressed, she goes. Me, I can be outside at recreation and she doesn’t come to me. It’s when she finishes eating at the canteen that she comes to me. Later I can give her something that she can eat… She knows she has something to eat. It doesn’t interest her. She knows to come buy some cookies or lolipop. She is not interested in waiting for food.

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #10: (Male; 51 years old; School director, oversee canteen; 11th grade; 6 children; 6 children in the program). … Sometimes when there was no school feeding program, I used to have problems with the children. When I was in the office, they would come and say: teacher I have a stomachache. Every now and then they said teacher I have stomachache. Rapidly, I would send them to buy some fried dough from the vendors. The lady, we also used to see her going outside to buy for them. With the school lunch program we face less of those problems. And I used to have a lot of absent students. But with the school feeding program there is none of that anymore. The school feeding program works good. The parents make weak contributions, but the school feeding program works good.…. Sometimes, a long time ago, when we didn’t have a canteen yet, there were children who came to school saying their stomachs hurt. Sometimes it’s not really a stomachache. It’s hunger. The director used to take the children, buy fried dough, and feed them. He paid for it himself. And after that you would see the child running around the school yard, playing during recreation. But now, we don’t have that.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #4: (female; 32 years; farmers; 5th year fundamental; 3 children; 2 children in the program): There are times when we really do not have anything to give the children. They just brush their teeth, put on their cloths and go…

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #1: (female; 55 years; Commerce; 5th year; 3 children; 3 children program): … I am happy with the canteen that gives children food at the school. There are times when parents can’t find anything to give their children in the morning.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #8–(female; 64 years; Commerce; ;4th grade; 4 children; 1 grandchild in program). Eh, like when you were a child, especially me, when my mother had some work to do, like washing clothes for people or ironing for people. As soon as I saw my mother ironing I knew I wasn’t going to be eating anything that day. Now I would start crying. You’re a child who’s a nuisance. Now for her to leave the iron and feed me. It’s the same with children, as soon enter school and they see there is no fire, they’re not happy. Sometimes a parent can give the child a little change. There are children who come to school with three Goud. My God! Calculate what three Goud can do. It can’t do anything. A single piece of hard candy to suck on. And it’s not all hard candies that sell for one Goud. There are those that sell for four and five Goud. The children come and ask me for three little pieces of hard candy. The canteen is useful to mother and father of the child. When children come to school early, especially when the time changes, but as soon as they see it’s 10:00 and the women have already prepared food. There are children who would like to eat two plates of food. The canteen is so useful. That’s why we have to say to PAM thank you very much because they have made a dream for us reality. That’s what I have to say.

***

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #1: (Male; 57 years old; School director, oversee canteen; Philo; 1 child; No child in the program) …. The local foods have vitamins and protein for the children and that allows for school performance to be raised…. We are happy when there is free lunch. All the children come to school. Performance improves…They only have to plan for night, to find something to give them so that they can study and the teachers won’t have too much problem with them the next day. Because they know these children can find food to eat. So they cannot come to tell the teachers that they are hungry and they could not study, ‘Teacher I was hungry.’ Everything about the feeding program is good.

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #10: (Male; 51 years old; School director, oversee canteen; 11th grade; 6 children; 6 children in the program). Sometimes when there was no school feeding program, I used to have problems with the children. When I am in the office, they always come and say: teacher I have a stomachache…. And I used to have a lot of absent students. But with the school feeding program there is none of that anymore. The school feeding program works good. The parents make weak contributions, but the school feeding program works good…

#NO IT MIGHT NOT HELP

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #1- (female; 34 years; Commerce; 8th grade; 2 children; 1 child in program). But before the canteen program I had a nephew who was in school. He wasn’t so interested. But it wasn’t the lack of the canteen that made him not interested. He was more interested in playing. When he got his report card he didn’t pass. One time he made an average of 40 percent. Well, he was going into exams and his father told him, ‘If you don’t pass, soon as you get home and give me that report card I’m going to take you up the mountain and beat you with a stick. I’m going to beat you to death with that stick.’ When he got his report card he passed. Then along came the canteen. In the morning, his mother would give him 5 Gourd. When his mother would say she didn’t have money, he would say, ‘aaaa’. Sometimes he would tell his mother, ‘Mama, you can keep the money, I don’t need it. I’ll eat at school.’ He always passed, always first in his class. Now he’s at school in the afternoon [secondary school]. He makes good grades. Well, he knows that school in the afternoon has no canteen. When he comes home from school they feed him. Often he says, ‘me, my stomach is full. (laughs). I tell him, thanks for the canteen. For me, if they end the canteen, I’ll see that as a big problem. Me, the year that happens I’m going to feel bad. It’s me who has to beat to make butter. [Contradictions in the original]

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #4- (female; 37 years; Commerce; No schooling; 5 children; 2 children in program). I have two boys. One bigger and one smaller. The smaller one is always more interested in passing. It’s been the same since before there was a canteen right up to when there was a canteen. It’s always been like that. The littler one has always gotten better grades than the bigger one. It’s not that the canteen interests him. It’s like the bigger one is just more susceptible to being corrupted.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #3- (female; 34 years; Commerce; 8th grade; 2 children; 1 child in program).I have two children in school. I had a lot of kids. They’ve already finished school. It’s just the two that are still in school. The little boy, him, he doesn’t want to learn anything at all. Every day he tears a book up. I buy a half dozen double-line notebooks for him, little notebooks with 10 pages, I don’t know what he does with them. The teacher has not put a pen to any of them a single time to give him a grade. He doesn’t know anything at all. I can try to show him. His brother can show him. He doesn’t learn anything. He’s only interested in playing. So I went and asked the teacher. The teacher told me that he’ just a child who only cares about goofing off. When the teacher is instructing the other children he’s off playing. He doesn’t want to learn.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #8- (female; 64 years; Commerce; ;4th grade; 4 children; 1 grandchild in program). In the same way, there are children who come to school, they don’t like school. The parents are obliged to send them because you can’t keep children in the house. There are children who are not interested in school. There are children too that, as soon as they get near the school entrance, they’re late, the people at the entrance could let them in, but they just watch the people go into the school. That means that there are those who are interested and there are those who are not really interested [whether they have a canteen or not].

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #8- (female; 64 years; Commerce; ;4th grade; 4 children; 1 grandchild in program). When the children go to school in the morning, if they send them back home, like if they did not come on Friday, or if they have a little problem with the director and he sends them back home, now, they don’t want to go. They stay in the school yard. Now that always happens, even when they had the canteen, even when they didn’t have the canteen. The children know that when they get home the parents are going to beat them [because they got sent home]. There are those who get to school late. When they get there, the director sends them home. They hide. If the director sees them, he makes them leave. They hide. They stay. Despite that when they stay, they won’t get any food, they stay anyway. That means that the children have something that interests them.

#BEFORE THE CANTEEN EXISTED

***

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Participant #7: (Female; 53 years old; Farmer; 3rd grade; 6 children; 2 children in program). Before it was here, we cooked and make juice to give them to go to school.

Socio-Dig: So did you did this every morning for your kids?

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Participant #7: (Female; 53 years old; Farmer; 3rd grade; 6 children; 2 children in program). Yes, I did.

Socio-Dig: In 5 days of classes, how many days a week did you cook and make juice for them before going to school?

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Participant #7: (Female; 53 years old; Farmer; 3rd grade; 6 children; 2 children in program). Every school day. But since the canteen is here, we make the food and they do not want it. If you have a 10 Goud you give it to them. For the canteen, you just give 10 dollars, 20 dollars [per month] …

***

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #3: (Female; 43 years old; School teacher; Philo; 1 child; 1 child in the program). I remember before WFP used to give us food, that was important indeed. But before the food was ready, the children used to go buy candy to eat. As now it’s BND that is financing the program, I don’t know how it is. When it was WFP, I know the children would go buy candy before the food was cooked, so they were not waiting for the food. [Now that there is a canteen], After the break, the children go to eat. Even if you’re giving a lesson, they don’t follow it. They’re focused on the food. But if they could find something to eat before the food is cooked, I see it is better for them. I see they don’t do that anymore.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): …OK, I always made food for them before they went to school… Now, you have a chance to feed the children. When they went at 8:00 and got out at 1:00, you gave 10 Goud. [But now] Even if you don’t have the money, they feed the child, you don’t have to fear.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #4: (female; 32 years; farmers; 5th year fundamental; 3 children; 2 children in the program): When there was not yet food at the schools… I used to give coffee and bread.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #3- (female; 34 years; Commerce; 8th grade; 2 children; 1 child in program). When there wasn’t one… I used to send him to his stepmother’s. ‘Tell your stepmother to give you something.’ I used to send him to the other wife, ‘Tell her to give you something.’ She would give him a cookie and turn her back. Sometimes, he gets food [from the school canteen] and he says, ‘mama, give me a container so I can show you how good the food is.’

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #1- (female; 34 years; Commerce; 8th grade; 2 children; 1 child in program). … I remember a long time ago when I was at a school in Port-au-Prince called Damoklès. They used to give us food, but it was not cooked. We didn’t even make food. Adults didn’t have time to make food. You suffered when you got out of school. They didn’t give you money, long time ago they didn’t give children money when they went to school.

***

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #1: (Male; 57 years old; School director, oversee canteen; Philo; 1 child; No child in the program) The parents are relieved when they know the children are going to find something to eat in the school. They don’t have to find something to give them in the morning. When the children come back in the afternoon, they know that the they have already found something to eat during the day. … They only have to plan for night …

***

Public: No, no, no, most do not eat.

Unidentified Participant: No, most do not eat. Let me explain it to you. You see that there a lot of merchants that come here. Sometimes I sit in the office and children come to me and that they have a stomachache. When they tell me their stomach is hurting, what’s wrong with them?

Another Unidentified Participant: Hunger, hunger.

Previous Unidentified Participant continues: Right away I send for something from the merchant. Sometimes when I pay, I pay at the end of the month. I can pay as much as 30 or 40 dola for the children because the children asked for it, I say, ‘give them a fried dough, a little stew….’ In this way, the canteen helps the children.

Other Unidentified Respondents: It’s helps them a lot.

Previous Unidentified Participant continues: It helps us in the administration too because a lot of the time I don’t have that problem anymore. Not the way it used to be. That’s why it helps us. But it’s not all the children who get fed in the morning.

***

Focus Group 15, School Directors After Pilot, Participant #1 (Male; 55 years of age; 8 Children; 10th grade; Teacher): … Sometimes I’m in the office and I hear children say, ‘teacher, my stomach hurts.’ ‘Your stomach hurts? You didn’t eat this morning?’ ‘No.’ Or I send them to get some fried dough from the vendor while they wait for the food to cook. And when they don’t have any food, you look at how much I spend per month. The vendor, I must pay her for fried dough that I owe. Why? For the children. When the children come complaining, you can’t let them go like that….

#FEEDING NOW THAT THERE IS A CANTEEN

#MORNING

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #3- (female; 34 years; Commerce; 8th grade; 2 children; 1 child in program). I have only one little one. The other one is a big girl now. If they’re going to school in the morning they say, ‘Mama, give me a little spaghetti.’ A little spaghetti and she’s gone. Or some corn meal. Whatever I have, they’re not demanding.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #1- (female; 34 years; Commerce; 8th grade; 2 children; 1 child in program). I don’t make food in the morning. My little girl has a bad habit. She doesn’t want to eat in the morning. Even when you would make food. Even when she was smaller. You get up to make food for her and she’s not going to eat it. She doesn’t like to eat early. I don’t get up and make food for her. I don’t get up early to make food. I give her whatever I have. Whatever I have, I give her. If I don’t have anything, she goes to her grandparent’s yard.

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Public: We give them whatever we have, whatever we have. Like coffee and bread. Sometimes I make corn with spinach before they go to school.

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Participant #5: (Female; 45 years old; Market woman; 9th grade; 2 children; 2 children in program). Days ago, before the hurricane, we would wake up in the morning and give the children a small cup of tea before they go to school. We would boil plantains with a little sauce of dry fish. And then we made juice for him. Sometimes, as parents, we may wake up late you do not have enough time to make food. But now, whether you wake up early or not, or whether you do not have anything or not, you have the advantage that they will eat at school.

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Participant #10: (Female; 38 years old; Market woman; 3rd grade; 5 children; 3 children in program). … in the morning, I personally have two children. I must make some bread and coffee for them because they’re small. They can’t wait for the cooked food. And I have a young daughter too. She’s already told me that she won’t go to school if she hasn’t eaten. That’s right, she won’t go. She’s assured me that she won’t go.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): Like, in the morning, I prepare coffee and bread. I don’t have time to cook food.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #5: (female; 32 years; Commerce; None; 7 children; 1 child program): Sometimes in the mornings I make food. Sometimes I don’t have it and I send them without it.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #1: (female; 55 years; Commerce; 5th year; 3 children; 3 children program): When they go to school, if I have something I cook food for them. If I don’t have anything then I give them coffee with bread, or I can give them 10 Goud to go with.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #4: (female; 32 years; farmers; 5th year fundamental; 3 children; 2 children in the program): Me, when I have it I cook something for them. When I don’t have it, I send them to school without it.

***

Socio-Dig: Ok. Is it necessary that children eat something first thing in the morning every day?

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers,: Public: Yes!

Socio-Dig: Why?

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers,: Public: For their chest, and so that the worms won’t burn them.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): Myself, if it’s not coffee with bread that I give them, then I make a macaroni in the morning and give it to them. But because of the change in time, school starts too early. Now I give them coffee and bread. I don’t let them leave without eating something.

Socio-Dig: You make something every morning?

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): Yes.

Socio-Dig: All week?

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): Yes, every morning I make something.

***

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #5: (female; 32 years; Commerce; None; 7 children; 1 child program): Ahh, me, in the morning I always try to make coffee. When I don’t make it, I give them 10 Goud.

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet): Participant #7: (Female; 53 years old; Farmer; 3rd grade; 6 children; 2 children in program). Every school day [I feed them]. But since the canteen is here, we make the food and they do not want it. If you have a 10 Goud you give it to them. For the canteen, you just give 10 dollars, 20 dollars [per month]. When I’m late, I do not make anything for him. You give the child 10 Goud to buy cookies.

***

Focus Group 4: School Directors and Teachers; Participant #10: (Male; 51 years old; School director, oversee canteen; 11th grade; 6 children; 6 children in the program). … Even if the parents haven’t fed the child, when he comes to school, he goes and takes a little fried dough from Madam Apol, and he eats it.

***

NOTE Contradiction: It is clear that people feed and an error to think rural Haitians barely survived this long without the canteen. But the value of the canteen mean that people will play to it in the focus groups. As seen in the following passages. When asked if they feed in the morning

Socio-Dig: You make something every morning?

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): Yes.

Socio-Dig: All week?

***

Despite saying the above, the same respondent later said the following:

***

Socio-Dig: If children eat at the house, do you think it’s so necessary for to feed them at school again. Couldn’t they replace that hot meal with something fresh? That means something else, because every day the child is eating at this house.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): You don’t hear what they’re telling you? There are times we don’t have anything to give them. We send them to school without anything.

***

Socio-Dig: What about in the morning, what do you like to eat in the morning?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Milk and cornflakes

Socio-Dig: Hmm

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Milk and cornflakes.

Socio-Dig: Milk and cornflakes, you prefer to eat in the morning?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: OK, what about fruit. What fruit you like to eat the most in the morning?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Mango

***

Socio-Dig: In the morning, what do you in the morning before heading to school?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): I eat corn meal in the morning.

Socio-Dig: Corn meal and what else?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Corn meal

Socio-Dig: What do you prefer to eat the most in the morning?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Mango

Socio-Dig: Mango, OK and you what is your favorite food before heading to school?

***

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): In the morning before going to school, I eat spaghetti.

Socio-Dig: You eat spaghetti?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: What else do you like most to eat in the morning?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): I like to eat spaghetti, I like to eat rice.

***

Socio-Dig: OK. In the morning before you go to school, what do you eat?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): Spaghetti.

Socio-Dig: Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1. Spaghetti, and after that, what else?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): Rice.

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Before I come to school I eat Aktive. Sometimes I don’t eat Aktive. I eat Spaghetti.

Socio-Dig: What is Aktive?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Aktive? A rice.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): A rice that they call Little Panic.

Socio-Dig: A rice that’s called Little Panic? What’s it made of?

Children: It has all kinds of meat. Carrots.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): It has all kinds of milled meat. It comes in a closed bag.

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Before I go to school, I eat rice with greens. If I don’t eat rice with greens, I eat spaghetti.

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): When I go to school, sometimes I eat spaghetti. If I don’t eat spaghetti, I eat rice.

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Before I go to school, I eat spaghetti. If I don’t eat spaghetti, they give me corn meal with greens.

***

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): After that they ring the bell and I go to my house.

Socio-Dig: OK. You go to your house.

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): When they have the canteen, I eat when my mother isn’t there. When my mother comes home she makes the food I eat.

***

Socio-Dig: What do you feed your child in the morning?

Public: Laughter

Same Unidentified Participant: In the morning I might give them a little corn meal, early in the morning. If I have breadfruit, I give them a little breadfruit, early. And sometimes I a little bit of plantain too. Sometimes, especially if they are going to school.

Another Unidentified Participant: Sometimes you give them bread and coffee.

Socio-Dig: And you, what do you feed them?

Unidentified Participant: Ah, I feed them…. Well, I don’t give just one thing in the morning, no, things very.

Unidentified Participant: Yes, that’s right.

Socio-Dig: Give us a couple of examples of what you feed in the morning.

Unidentified Participant continues: He eats yam, plantain, breadfruit…

Socio-Dig: You boil them?

Unidentified Participant: Yes.

Focus Group 14, School Directors Before Pilot, Participant #2 (Male; 0 Children; Teacher; 6 years employment): Me, I don’t have any children.

Unidentified Participant: I usually give mine a variety of different foods. When it’s bread and coffee we have, we give them that.

Different Unidentified Participant: Sometimes it’s bread and egg that we feed them. They can take a little juice with them when they go. Sometimes it’s breadfruit they can boil. They boil it and eat it.

Earlier Unidentified Participant: They boiled it and eat it and they take a little fish with them and go to school. It varies.

Focus Group 14, School Directors Before Pilot, Participant #1 (Male; 2 Children; School director; 12 years employment): Well, we do the same, we give them yams because where I live there is a time of year when we have a lot of yams. We give them sweet potatoes. We give them malanga and manioc and every now and then we give them spaghetti, a little corn meal, those are the types of things we make.

Unidentified Participant: That we give in the morning.

Socio-Dig: You always give them those foods before school?

Public: Yes, before they go to school.

Socio-Dig: So, your children, obligatorily eat something before they go to school?

Public: Yes, before they go to school.

Socio-Dig: Do you think that all the children in school eat something before they come to school?

#FEEDING IN THE AFTERNOON

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #5: (female; 32 years; Commerce; None; 7 children; 1 child program): If you don’t leave something for them, you must make an effort no matter what! As soon as they get home, they’re headed straight to the table. If they don’t find anything, ‘Mama, I’m dying here right now!’ You do whatever you can. You gotta have something for them no matter what.

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #5: (female; 32 years; Commerce; None; 7 children; 1 child program): … he enters school at 7:45 and gets out a 1:00… Regardless of whether I’ve already given him something, he can’t wait until 1:00 when school lets out and he gets home.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #3- (female; 34 years; Commerce; 8th grade; 2 children; 1 child in program). … When they don’t feed them at school, they’re killing me. They’re really killing me because when they come home from school, I ask God to forgive me because if they have hunger pains it just makes me ill.

***

Socio-Dig: OK. And you, what food do you favor most? Ahh don’t tell me! I know already … home cooked food. You don’t like the school food? OK. In the afternoon, after school, when you get home, what does your mother leave for you?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): She will leave rice, cooked food. Once we remove the uniform we can sit to eat and then after we can sit and study.

Socio-Dig: What type of food do they usually leave for you?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): At times, rice.

Socio-Dig: Rice.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): At times corn meal.

Socio-Dig: OK and you…?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): At times rice and other times corn meal

Socio-Dig: Same thing for all of you?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: And you what type of food they leave for you after school?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): At times, they will leave me rice with meat for me [laugh] … with bread and eggs.

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): … When my mother comes home she makes the food I eat.

Socio-Dig: She makes food for you. OK.

***

Socio-Dig: It’s you who produces it? OK. When you get home from school, do you always find food waiting for you?

Children: Yes, yes, yes.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): We find food already prepared when we get home from school.

Socio-Dig: Every day?

Children: Yes, there are sometimes though that we don’t find anything.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): There are times that we get there, we tell our mothers that we are hungry. And also, there is food that’s just been prepared. We take off our school uniforms, and after we eat, we bath. When we’re down bathing we study on the porch. In the morning we go over our lessons again. We get to school, and they make us recite them. Finished.

Socio-Dig: OK, that means that there are times that it’s you who must make food when you get home? Number 7.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): There are times that I also make food. But, whether I eat at school, I don’t care. Me, I’m the type of person, all the time I don’t know my lessons, I can’t put a taste of anything in my mouth. It’s when I’m finished with my lessons that I eat. Everyone at my house knows how I am. If you see me lying down and studying, no one calls me because all the time I don’t know my lesson no one is going to see my eyes on anything else. As soon as I know my lesson, I eat.

Socio-Dig: OK. And you number 4?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): I don’t have anything to say, no.

Socio-Dig: You don’t have anything to say?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): No.

Socio-Dig: And you number 3?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Me, as soon as I get home I always find food waiting for me. Because my mother, she sells cooked food. Even if I don’t find anything at the house, I just go to where my mother is, and I say, « Mama, I’m hungry! » She takes food out of the cauldron for me.

#GIVING MONEY TO THE CHILDREN TO BUY FOOD

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #1: (female; 55 years; Commerce; 5th year; 3 children; 3 children program): … if you give them 10 Gourd, so that when they finally get out of school [at recreation] they can eat something… That’s what I like a lot. Because… they feed them already. School gets out at 1:00 but they’ve already eaten. What’s more is that you give them 10 Goud so they can eat something to hold them until the canteen has finished cooking food. After that, I don’t see any problems with the canteen. Well, I’m happy because it’s not all the time that I have money to give them when they go to school.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #9- (female; 64 years; Commerce; ;4th grade; 4 children; 1 grandchild in program). Sometimes I make soup for them. I have some who don’t need anything. They say give them 5 Goud and when they get to school they’ll eat. They don’t stay home and eat anything.

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #4- (female; 37 years; Commerce; No schooling; 5 children; 2 children in program). Mine, mine aren’t little children. I could get up in the morning and they say, ‘you don’t have to do anything for me. You can give me 10 Goud, 15 Goud, whatever you have. We’re going to see if they have food. If they have food we’ll eat whatever it is.’

***

Socio-Dig: OK, only in the morning, your parents always give you money for school?

Children: Yes

***

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): When she does not have money, when she does not have money, we don’t get any. When she does, I get it.

Socio-Dig: How much money they usually give you?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): At one time, she will give me 10 or 15 goud (.10 to 16 cents)

***

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): When she does not have money, when she does not have money, we don’t get any. When she does, I get it.

Socio-Dig: How much money they usually give you?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): At one time, she will give me 10 or 15 goud (.10 to 16 cents)

Socio-Dig: OK what do you do with all that money?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): If she gives me 15 goud, I will pay for food for 10 goud and with the remaining 5 goud I will buy lollipopst.

***

Socio-Dig: Any type of cookies. And you when you receive money, what do you do with it. How much money do you usually receive?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): They sometimes give 10 goud (.10 cents). I pay 5 goud to buy fried dough to eat.

***

Socio-Dig: … OK. In the morning when you come to school, do your parents give you money?

Children: Yesss.

Socio-Dig: OK, let’s begin with you. How much money do they give you? And what do you do with the money?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): Sometimes she gives me 10 goud, she gives me 15 goud. Before I come to school they fry dough. I take the fried dough. Before recreation I go and get some more fried dough.

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Sometimes I come to school with 25 goud. When you she doesn’t’ have anything, the smallest she gives me is 10 goud….

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Before I come to school, if it’s a moment when my mother has money, she gives me 20 goud…

#Buying Food at School

Socio-Dig: OK, only in the morning, your parents always give you money for school?

Children:Yes

Socio-Dig: What do you do with that money?

Children: At times we pay for other food with it.

Socio-Dig: Hum, what do you do with it?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): At times I would pay for food with it. At times, we eat fried dough.

Socio-Dig: Fried dough?

***

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): At times I pay for food. I buy candies or fried dough with it.

***

Socio-Dig: And you what do you do with your money?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): At times, I pay for food with it and at times I eat candy with it.

***

Socio-Dig: And when they give you money to go to school what do you do with the money?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): I use it to buy food.

Socio-Dig: To buy food?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes.

***

Socio-Dig: OK what do you do with all that money?

Socio-Dig: You buy candy, besides the lollipops. What else you like to buy with the money?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Cookies

Socio-Dig: What type of cookies?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Any type of cookies.

Socio-Dig: Any type of cookies. And you when you receive money, what do you do with it. How much money do you usually receive?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): They sometimes give 10 goud (.10 cents). I pay 5 goud to buy fried dough to eat.

***

Socio-Dig: Salt-food, OK. In the morning when you come to school, do your parents give you money?

Children: Yesss.

Socio-Dig: OK, let’s begin with you. How much money do they give you? And what do you do with the money?

Socio-Dig: OK. In the morning you eat some fried dough. How much does fried dough cost?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): They give you 2 for 1 dola (1 Haitian dola= 5 goud)

Socio-Dig: 2 for 1 dola, OK, and you?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Sometimes I come to school with 25 goud

[5 minute]

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): When you she doesn’t’ have anything, the smallest she gives me is 10 goud. And also, when I come to school, I get there, I take a little fried dough before I put my bookbag inside the classroom. After recreation, I do the same thing again [eat fried dough].

Socio-Dig: You do the same thing also?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): When she doesn’t have more, she gives me 10 goud. Eh, in the morning I buy two pieces of fried dough for 1 dola (5 goud). At recreation I buy for 5 goud again.

Socio-Dig: For 5 goud again.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): When they let us out of school they give us food.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): You mean before they let you out of school?

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Before I come to school, if it’s a moment when my mother has money, she gives me 20 goud. Before I enter into the classroom I buy 10 goud of fried dough. After recreation I can’t eat fried dough again, I buy Salix crackers

Socio-Dig: Salix cookies. You’re speaking to us? Speak louder, you’re not shy. Speak louder. You can speak louder.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): When I go in, I buy 5 goud of fried dough in the morning. At recreation I buy for 5 goud again.

***

Socio-Dig: OK, what type of cookies/crackers do you eat most?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Salt-crackers.

Socio-Dig: Salt-crackers, which brand?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Guarina

Socio-Dig: Guarina, OK. But isn’t there a type of sweet crackers that you buy?

Children: Sometimes we buy Anika. We buy fried dough. Or some Salix crackers..

Socio-Dig: OK, I hear you telling me that you buy crackers or cookies, you buy fried dough. But what do you drink?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): We buy a juice or a cola. When they ring the bell for us to go inside, we go so we can work.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): There are those who don’t have much money. There is a juice that sells for 5 goud. We buy one of those little juices.

***

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): …. At times, we eat fried dough.

Socio-Dig: Fried dough?

***

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): At times I pay for food. I buy candies or fried dough with it.

***

Socio-Dig: And you what do you do with your money?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): At times, I pay for food with it and at times I eat candy with it.

Socio-Dig: You eat candy?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: What type of candy do you like to eat?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Salty cookies/cookies

***

Socio-Dig: Salty cookies. Do you like to eat cookies too?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: What type of cookies you like?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Cookies Anika

Socio-Dig: Anika?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: OK, you like cookies or you prefer fried dough?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Fried dough

***

Socio-Dig: Do you purchase cookies at school?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: What type of cookies do you buy?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Salix

Socio-Dig: Salix is your favorite?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes, and lollipops.

***

#NEGATIVE IMPACT OF FEEDING

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #3- (female; 34 years; Commerce; 8th grade; 2 children; 1 child in program). Yes, every day. They want to go, they’re interested. But that one doesn’t want to learn anything. I don’t know if it’s because he’s thinking about the food.

#HOW THE FEEDING PROGRAM FUNCTIONS

#TIME OF FEEDING

Focus Group 7: Members of Rural School Kitchen Committees, Public: At 10 o’clock. 10:30.

***

Socio-Dig: OK. When do you feel most hungry during the day? Number 3, are you saying something? When do you feel the hungriest, morning, noon or night? When do you feel most hungry?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): In the morning I feel hungry.

Socio-Dig: In the morning. Hmm, you when do you feel most hungry?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): When they give me food in the morning?

Socio-Dig: When you get food in the morning?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: And you?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): In the morning

Socio-Dig: In the morning OK. Do you like the time that the meal is given at school? When they give the meal, would you prefer it earlier or later?

Children: Earlier

Socio-Dig: Earlier?

Children: Yes

Socio-Dig: Why earlier?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Because when they do not cook at home, so we would eat earlier?

Socio-Dig: Even though they serve the meal earlier, around the same time, would you still feel hungry?

Children: Yes

Socio-Dig: When you feel hungry again, what would you do?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Nothing

Socio-Dig: Hey?

Children: Nothing

Socio-Dig: You would not do anything?

Children: No

Socio-Dig: Would you like to get the meal earlier?

Children: Yes

***

Socio-Dig: What time during the day do you feel most hungry?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): About 1 o’clock.

Socio-Dig: About 1 o’clock is when you most feel hungry? That’s when you have school or when you do not have school?

Children: Not when we have school. School always let’s out about noon. At 1 o’clock there is no school.

Socio-Dig: There’s no school?

Children: 1 o’clock in the afternoon is when we leave.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): There are times that my parents don’t have anything to give us. I just get up…I just get up and go anyway [laughs]

Socio-Dig: Let him speak.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): I can get up at times like that and go the whole day without eating. I can even end up going to bed like that. I’m tough.

Socio-Dig: Really?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: OK, but for example, what time during the day do you feel the hungriest?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Around noon.

Socio-Dig: Around noon?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: OK. And you number 5?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Me, I feel hungry around noon. I’m already in school and I don’t yet know the thing. But around 1 or 2 o’clock I start feeling hungry. I tell my mother that I’m hungry. She says. “oh, well, you ate at school. I don’t have anything to give you. Now you’ve come to pester me.” I just put up with it, go sit on the porch and study.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): When I don’t have school on Saturday and I’m washing clothes, I get to feeling hungry around 4 o’clock. I go play football. When I’m done playing football….

[35 minutes]

Socio-Dig: You play football too?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: OK. And you number 1. At what time during the day do you feel that you’re the hungriest?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): At 2 o’clock.

#SCHOOL FEEDING PREFERRED FOODS

Socio-Dig: OK, of all these meals, which one do you prefer the most and which one do you like the least.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Rice with pureed beans.

Socio-Dig: You like the most?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

***

Socio-Dig: OK. Do you like it? Does it taste good?

Children: Yes

Socio-Dig: Does the food taste good?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: Tastes good?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: You like it?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes [laugh]

Socio-Dig: You can tell me if you really don’t like it, you will not be in trouble.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): At times, I give it away. Other times I sell it.

Socio-Dig: Sell? You sell the food to other kids [laugh]. How much do you sell it for?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): For 5 goud.

Socio-Dig: For 5 goud.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: Why do you sell it?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Because I will not eat it.

Socio-Dig: You will not eat it? There are several children that beans do not go well with, they don’t eat the black beans.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): I don’t eat black beans. They gives me heart burn.

Socio-Dig: OK. And you?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): I usually eat mine, but at times I would sell it as well.

Socio-Dig: You sell it too?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: What type of food you sell the most?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Rice and mushed vegetables.

Socio-Dig: You don’t like them?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): No.

***

Socio-Dig: OK, now if you had a choice of other food to give you in the school? Each one of you will tell me 3 foods you would prefer to be served?

Socio-Dig: Number 3

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): They should give rice.

Socio-Dig: No, you already have rice. It is food you don’t have now.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Corn meal.

Socio-Dig: Corn meal. What else?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): They can give cracked wheat.

Socio-Dig: Cracked wheat.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Dumplings

Socio-Dig: There are no dumplings?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): There are no dumplings.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Spaghetti.

Socio-Dig: They don’t give you dumplings. The stew has no dumplings?

Children: No

Socio-Dig: What does the stew have in it?

Children: Sweet potato, manioc, yam

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): At times they put breadfruit.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Breadfruit.

Socio-Dig: OK and you what would you like to be added? What other food you like you would you like to be added?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Manioc.

Socio-Dig: Manioc?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Spaghetti.

Socio-Dig: Ummh, Spaghetti.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Plantain.

Socio-Dig: Plantain, there is sweet plantain or, what type of plantain?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Plantain.

Socio-Dig: Plantain ummmh

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Malanga.

Socio-Dig: Malanga OK. To add to the stew?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: And you number 1, what food would you like to be added… would you like any other food to be added to what you get now?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Plantains.

Socio-Dig: Ummh, how would you like the plantains to be prepared, boiled?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): No, fried.

Socio-Dig: Fried plantain. What else?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): With milk.

Socio-Dig: With milk. And what else?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): With bread and peanut butter.

Socio-Dig: Bread and peanut butter?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes

***

Socio-Dig: What food would you like to take off the menu?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): They can take off stew.

Socio-Dig: They can take away the stew?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: You don’t like the stew?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): I don’t like it

Socio-Dig: If they were to add dumplings to the stew?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): We will take the dumplings.

Socio-Dig: You would take the dumplings?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: OK. It is the lack of dumplings that troubles them.

Socio-Dig: If the dumplings are added, would not have any objection to the stew.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): No

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Personally, they can leave the stew on the menu.

Socio-Dig: Oh?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Yes, with sweet potatoes.

Socio-Dig: With Sweet potatoes.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Sweet potatoes.

***

Socio-Dig: Which one do you like the least?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): I don’t like the stew.

Socio-Dig: Why, why don’t you like the stew, do you know? [it has too many good stuffs in it] [laugh]

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): I like rice and vegetables, rice and bean sauce. I don’t like stew. I like rice with mushed vegetables, rice and pureed beans, I don’t like the stew.

Socio-Dig: Why don’t you like the stew?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): No reason.

Socio-Dig: No reason?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #1 (Female; 8 years-old; 4th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: And you?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): I prefer rice, and I like the stew with rice and pureed beans and mushed vegetables.

Socio-Dig: Vegetables?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: You don’t like….

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Rice

Socio-Dig: You don’t like the stew?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): That’s what I like the most.

Socio-Dig: The stew?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: Really?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Yes

Socio-Dig: OK. What do you like the most in the stew?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): I like the plantains

Socio-Dig: OK

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): I like it, I like it what is in it, like the dumplings. I like them.

Socio-Dig: Dumplings. OK.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): I like manioc and sweet potatoes.

***

Socio-Dig: OK. And out of all that food, what do you like the most?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Me, the food I like the most….

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Bean sauce I don’t really like. Nor stew. The food that I most like that they give is rice and beans with mushed vegetable.

Socio-Dig: OK. Why don’t you like bean sauce?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Sometimes it doesn’t digest well.

Socio-Dig: Beans, when you eat bean sauce at your house, it doesn’t digest well there too?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): No, all beans.

Socio-Dig: Beans that are cooked at school, or even beans that are cooked at your house?

Children: Same thing…

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Even beans cooked at my house.

Socio-Dig: They don’t sit well with you?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): No.

Socio-Dig: And you, what food do you most like?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): I most like… I don’t really like bouyon. But rice and bean sauce and rice and beans with mushed vegetables I like.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Only mushed vegetable I don’t like so much.

Socio-Dig: Why don’t you like mushed vegetables? What’s wrong with them?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Not mushed vegetables, it’s stew that I don’t really like

Socio-Dig: Why don’t you like stew?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Stew, eh, it doesn’t sit so well with me…

Socio-Dig: It doesn’t sit so well with you, what’s it do to you?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): It makes me vomit.

Socio-Dig: It makes you vomit. OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Me, when they make stew at my house, they don’t put any aside for me. They give me rice with bean sauce.

Socio-Dig: That means that it’s stew that you don’t like. It’s not stew at school that makes you sick. It’s that you don’t like stew at all.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): That’s right.

Socio-Dig: OK, and you, what food do you most like? And what food do you most not like?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): I don’t so much like rice with bean sauce because sometimes I drink bean sauce and it gives me acid.

[10 minutes]

Socio-Dig: It gives you acid when you drink it a school or in general?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): I can drink it at the house and it does the same think. It gives me acid.

Socio-Dig: It gives you acid?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: OK. And what do you most like?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Ha, I most like rice and beans and beans and mushed vegetables.

Socio-Dig: Rice and beans and mushed vegetables. OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): I most like white rice with mushed vegetables. I don’t really like bean sauce. Sometimes it makes me vomit.

Socio-Dig: It makes you vomit?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): That’s right

Socio-Dig: OK. It makes you vomit, OK. That happens even when you drink it at school?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): In general.

Socio-Dig: In general. OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): I most like rice and beans.

Socio-Dig: With mushed vegetables?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): With mushed vegetables.

Socio-Dig: What do you not like at all?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): Stew

***

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): There’s one food I never eat at school.

Socio-Dig: What’s that?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Only the stew.

Socio-Dig: You don’t like stew at all.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): No, I don’t like it at all, at all. Even at home, I don’t eat it.

***

Socio-Dig: No. OK. (laughs) If there was a different food that they added to what they give you, what food would you want them to add?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): We would add cracked wheat.

Socio-Dig: Cracked wheat.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Corn meal would be even better.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): I don’t really like corn meal.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Corn meal gives people strength.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): I don’t really like cracked wheat. I would like it if it was corn meal with greens

Socio-Dig: Corn meal would be better?

[25 minutes]

Children: Yes, corn meal gives strength.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Corn meal with beans in it.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): The food that they should give is cracked wheat, that’s my food.

Socio-Dig: Cracked wheat?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Yes.

Socio-Dig: Each person is going to tell me something that they would agree to add.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): They could add corn meal with beans, or like corn meal with beans and fish sauce. What I like most is corn meal, bean sauce and fish sauce.

Socio-Dig: That’s what you like most? corn meal, bean sauce and fish sauce?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Me, myself, I most like corn meal with beans and especially with fish sauce, because they make that at my home. My father is a fisherman. When he comes from Bomon, he brings fish to us. We like to eat that a lot.

Socio-Dig: OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): I most like corn meal with beans and fish sauce. Because when I eat it, it doesn’t do anything bad to me.

Socio-Dig: It doesn’t’ do anything to you?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): No.

Socio-Dig: OK, you would not agree to add millet too, if they added millet?

Children: Yes, they can add millet. They could add it because that’s food of our country.

Socio-Dig: And you, what food would you add?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): I would say for them to add corn meal and bean sauce.

Socio-Dig: Corn meal with bean sauce, OK.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): I don’t like corn meal. I would prefer they add cracked wheat or millet.

Socio-Dig: [Laughs]

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): I don’t like cracked wheat. I like rice with meat, what they call Little Panic. And I would most like to see them add corn meal with greens.

Socio-Dig: Corn meal with greens. OK. Now let’s talk about juice and milk. I know that they don’t give you juice and milk in school. Between those two things, which would you most agree that they give you.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Juice.

Socio-Dig: Juice?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Juice is good. In a little bottle it would be better.

Socio-Dig: O, juice.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Something with gas, something with gas isn’t good for us.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Juice is good, yes.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): It’s natural juice, carrot.…

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Well, it’s not natural juice.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): You don’t know what kind of juice?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): It’s not a natural juice.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Pineapple juice, carrot, papaya.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): It’s got gas in it. When you open it, you hear it go pssss.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Well, that one doesn’t make any noise.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Try shaking before you open it.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): No, what thing shakes like that.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): The natural juice that I like is Tampico, lime, like pineapple.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): I like the natural juice most, but when you don’t have a lot of money, get them to buy you a tasty juice or a Tampico to drink.

Socio-Dig: Do they sell cassava with peanut butter around here?

Children: Yes, not so much

Socio-Dig: Not so much. You don’t like cassava with peanut butter?

Children: Yes, a lot.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Bobori.

Socio-Dig: Bobori?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Bobori is when they put sugar in it.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): I like it most.

Socio-Dig: Cassava, peanut butter, and banana, you guys don’t like those?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Banana, I love bananas.

Socio-Dig: OK, if they said that they were going to give you a hot meal and the next day they were going to give you a cassava, peanut butter, and banana, would you agree with that?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Mmm. No, O! Because banana, cassava, and peanut butter…

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): If today they give us a hot meal and tomorrow they give us….

Socio-Dig: A cold meal.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Cassava with peanut butter. And then the next day they gave you a hot meal that would be good.

Socio-Dig: It would be good?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): That wouldn’t be a problem.

Socio-Dig: It wouldn’t be a problem for you number 1?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #1 (Female; 11 years-old; 5th grade): No.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): It would not be problem, no.

Socio-Dig: A little while ago you said that it would be a problem. (laughs). And you number 3, would you like that?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Yes, because we eat the food from our country all the time. That’s a food that just arrived. It wouldn’t be a problem for us.

Socio-Dig: OK. What work do you do at home? Do you help your family make gardens? You said your father is a fisherman. Do you ever fish with him?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): No, because where he goes so far way, I can’t be involved.

Socio-Dig: You can’t go?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): No.

Socio-Dig: OK, what do you do at home?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): When I’m at home…

***

#SCHOOL VS HOME COOKED FOOD

Socio-Dig: What type of food do you like the most, the school food or the food at home?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #4: (Female; 13 years old; 5th grade): Home cooked food.

Socio-Dig: Why? [Silence…] What type of food you prefer to eat, home food or at the school food?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): I like both.

Socio-Dig: You like both?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Yes.

***

Socio-Dig: Because it’s us who produce it, OK. What do you most like to eat, canteen food or food that is cooked at home.

Children: Both, both food that is cooked in the canteen, and food that’s cooked at home. We eat both.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Canteen food has something we like more because in the morning when our parents don’t have money to give us, we go there, we get sustenance that can kill a worm for us. But homecooked food, it’s only when we leave school at noon that we eat it. [Bird is singing loudly]. If we don’t get it in the morning before we go.

Socio-Dig: OK. Canteen food is tasty?

Children: Yess.

Socio-Dig: All the food is good every day?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): There’s one food I never eat at school.

Socio-Dig: What’s that?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): Only the stew.

Socio-Dig: You don’t like stew at all.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): No, I don’t like it at all, at all. Even at home, I don’t eat it.

#PROCESS OF MAKING THE MEAL AND TIME IT TAKES

***

Socio-Dig: Thank you very much. Cooks, how much time does it take you to prepare a meal?

Focus Group 7: Members of Rural School Kitchen Committees: Participant #1: (female; 39 years of age; Farmer; 3rd grade; 3 children; 2 children in the school feeding program; 14 months on kitchen committee). As soon as I get there [at the school], I light the fire. And I put the beans on the fire. I wait for the other woman to come. And I wash my cooking pot. Put my beans on the fire. Now, when she gets there she’s going to wash all the vessels again [that were washed the day before].

Socio-Dig: Yes.

Focus Group 7: Members of Rural School Kitchen Committees: Participant #1: (female; 39 years of age; Farmer; 3rd grade; 3 children; 2 children in the school feeding program; 14 months on kitchen committee). Now me, I am in the kitchen, the beans are on the fire. She’s finished washing the vessels. Now, after that, she comes and joins me. If it’s vegetable mush we’re making we both work together. We put on our aprons, and we make the food. When we finish making food it’s 10:00, 10:30, National time.

#CONSISTENCY OF PROGRAM AND DAILY FEEDING

***

Socio-Dig: Ok. Do the children get fed every day?

***

Socio-Dig: Ok. In your opinion, did the canteen function well last year? Were there days that they did not feed? Did anything happen that they did not get fed?

Socio-Dig: That means that the children always got fed every day.?

***

Socio-Dig: Two years. You always have food?

Public: Yes, yes, yes we always find food.

Socio-Dig: Ok. That means that every day the children go to school, five days per week, they get fed, cooked food?

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #5: (female; 32 years; Commerce; None; 7 children; 1 child program): Yes, every day.

***

Socio-Dig: Ok. Does the food always come on time? Is there always food?

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Public: Yes, there is always food. There is always food that lacks salt, we lack beans, oil.

***

Socio-Dig: In this sense, we can see the program is functioning well because the schools always feed the children?

Focus Group 3, Rural Parents and Members of School Kitchen Committee (Cholet), Public: Yes, it is properly functioning.

***

Focus Group 7: Members of Rural School Kitchen Committees: Participant #6: (female; 58 years of age; Commerce and Farmer; no schooling; 8 children; 2 children in the feeding program; 14 months in committee kitchen). Sometimes the cooking oil is finished. I’ve already told them it’s finished. And when they bring more we’ve already bought some.

***

Socio-Dig: Why don’t you like stew? Umm, you don’t know. (laughs). Is it every day that they feed you?

Children: Yes!

Socio-Dig: At what time do they give you food?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Sometimes they feed us at 11 o’clock.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Sometimes they feed us at 10 o’clock. When it’s prepared early, they give it to us.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #7 (Female; 16 years-old; 6th grade): When it’s not prepared early, they feed us at 11 o’clock.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Or even at noon.

Socio-Dig: OK. Are there days that they don’t feed at all?

Children: No, everyday.

Socio-Dig: They feed everyday?

Children: Even when we have exams, they still have food.

***

Well, the one thing is that food at school isn’t made very early.

Socio-Dig: Umm.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): But we don’t die because of that.

***

#FOOD VARIETY

Socio-Dig: Each day, what kind of food do they get?

Focus group 1: Female School-Yard Merchants who are also Parents of Town School Children: Participant #8- (female; 64 years; Commerce; ;4th grade; 4 children; 1 grandchild in program). On Wednesday, they feed stew. And like tomorrow, Monday, they will feed rice and bean sauce. If they have vegetables, they make them vegetable mush, rice and bean sauce. Wednesday it’s stew.

***

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #6: (female; 46 years; Commerce; 2nd Grade fundamental; 2 children; 2 children in the program): They give them rice. In ZONE_2 they give them rice. And only on Wednesday do they give stew. Like when it’s time for stew, they give sweet potatoes, yam, they buy things like that. But it’s rice that comes most often.

Socio-Dig: Ok. You all, it’s the same?

Focus Group 6: Parents of Rural School Children (Fondelyann): Participant #5: (female; 32 years; Commerce; None; 7 children; 1 child program): Yes. It’s the same.

***

Socio-Dig: Ok. Let’s say there are 5 days in a week. What do they give the cooks to make? Number 1.

Socio-Dig: One after the other. Number 6?

Focus Group 7: Members of Rural School Kitchen Committees: Participant #6: (female; 58 years of age; Commerce and Farmer; no schooling; 8 children; 2 children in the feeding program; 14 months in committee kitchen). Monday, rice and bean sauce. Tuesday, sometimes we have rice and beans with vegetable sauce. It’s like that. If on one Tuesday I make vegetable sauce, the other Tuesday, when they bring the food, I make rice, bean sauce, and vegetable sauce. Wednesday, we make stew. Thursday, we make white rice and bean sauce again.

Socio-Dig: Friday, what do you make on Friday?

Focus Group 7: Members of Rural School Kitchen Committees: Participant #6: (female; 58 years of age; Commerce and Farmer; no schooling; 8 children; 2 children in the feeding program; 14 months in committee kitchen). On Fridays, we always make rice and bean sauce. Because when you look at the kids, they’re in school. Now to see you’re giving them rice they way we do, mostly Haitian rice and pureed beans.

***

Socio-Dig: OK, in the school what do they give to eat?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Rice and pureed beans.

Socio-Dig: Everyday? Tell me during the week what food do you eat every day number 3. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday what do you eat?

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Monday, I eat rice with pureed beans.

Focus Group 10, Children (Cholette), Participant #3: (Male; 10 years-old; 4th grade): Tuesday, they give us mixed rice with mushed vegetables, Wednesday, they usually give us stew. Thursday, rice with pureed beans again and Friday they give us rice with mushed vegetables.

***

Socio-Dig: Now I’m going to ask some questions about the canteen food you eat at school. What do they feed you each day?

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): They usually give us…

Socio-Dig: Let’s say, let’s begin….

Children: Monday they feed us rice and bean sauce. Tuesday, they give us rice with beans and mushed vegetables. Wednesday, they give us white rice and stew.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): No, Wednesday they give us stew.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #5: (Female; 10 years-old; 5the grade): Wednesday is stew.

Children: Thursday, white rice, mushed vegetables and bean sauce. Friday, rice and beans and mushed vegetables.

Socio-Dig: OK. You said Monday…

Children: White rice, bean sauce, mushed vegetables.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): Tuesday, they give us rice and beans with mushed vegetables. Wednesday, they give us stew. Thursday, they give us rice and bean sauce.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #3 (Male; 13 years-old; 5the grade): Rice and beans with bean sauce.

Focus Group 11, Children (Dupuy) Participant #4 (Male; 13 years-old; 4th grade): No, white rice and bean sauce.

Socio-Dig: Rice, beans and mushed vegetables.

Children: Friday, they give us rice and beans and mushed vegetables.