NGO: Half of children in high-risk areas facing food insecurity

October 13, 2015
Written by E.Tsiliopoulos

A quarter of a million school children in Greece have applied for help under the food aid programme 'Diatrofi' organised by the Prolepsis Institute, the head of the non-governmental organisation Prof. Athina Linou reported on Monday.

She noted that half the students enrolled at schools in higher-risk areas face food insecurity, with one in six presenting health problems and a quarter experiencing emotional health problems, such as fear, sorrow, anger and worry about the future.

Applications to join Diatrofi in 2016 were sent by 2,032 schools, or 16 pct of total state schools in Greece, and roughly 250,000 children in the country, Linou said. Now in its fifth year, the programme has delivered more than 11 million meals to some 450 schools and 75,000 students.

The figures were collected by Prolepsis during the previous school year and presented on Monday during an event to mark World Food Day on October 16 and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17. They showed that 53 pct of the children in the programme experienced food insecurity and 21 pct experienced hunger. Of the families in the programme, one parent was without income in 64 pct of the families, while 15 pct had no source of income, 8.5 pct of students had no health insurance and 7 pct had no electricity for the space of more than a week.

The NGO noted that children that are hungry show higher rates for absenteeism and dropping out of school, while children from families with food insecurity have an 18 pct rate for frequent absenteeism due to ill health, compared with 8 pct in families with food security. They also show greater difficulty in coping with school work and following lessons, with a long-term impact on their future and that of the country as a whole.

Linou reported that the programme helped reduce the food insecurity index by 10 pct in the school year 2014-2015, that the number of children experiencing hunger was reduced by 20 pct and 33 pct of students attained a normal weight, while 38 pct showed improvements in physical health and 42 pct in emotional health.

The Institute of Preventive Medicine Environmental and Occupational Health Prolepsis is implementing the food aid and nutrition education programme 'Diatrofi' until January 2016. The current programme is starting this week in schools in Thessaloniki, Imathia and Thrace, while the funds collected so far are enough to cover roughly 100 schools with 7,500 students.

The core objective of Diatrofi is the reduction of food insecurity on a day-to-day basis for students who attend public schools in remote and rural areas. All participating students were provided on a daily basis with one free, healthy meal while simultaneously being educated on matters of health, nutrition and proper dietary habits.

The Program on Food Aid and Healthy Nutrition – DIATROFI was implemented on the initiative of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, who is also the founding donor, and in cooperation with the Prolepsis Institute. The Niarchos Foundation has donated 2.5 million euros to the programme, of which one million is spent on its direct support and the remaining 1.5 million euros is allocated as a matching grant for every 100,000 euros in donations raised by Prolepsis.

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