World Food Day: Empowering ECD Workers to Make Healthy Nutrition Choices for Young Children

From cooking demonstrations, food tasting and open dialogues, the Foundation is using World Food Day to promote better nutrition for South Africa’s young children who need it most. We are partnering with key early childhood development (ECD) partners, including the Department of Health, to increase the nutrition literacy of 1,000 practitioners and cooks.

This year’s initiative underscores the critical need for accessible, affordable and diverse nutritious foods to address childhood malnutrition. UNICEF reports that 23% of South African children are experiencing severe child food poverty and are at risk of life-threatening malnutrition and its related health complications. World Food Day is used to amplify awareness of the crisis of malnutrition among young children and get ordinary South Africans involved in the solution.

Jabu Mthembu-Dlamini, Community Programmes Lead at the Do More Foundation: “As a key focus of our programme, we're committed to enhancing childhood nutrition. We believe that empowering ECD practitioners and cooks to make informed, healthy choices - despite their resource constraints - is essential. The alarming reality is that 90% of brain growth occurs between birth and age five, and malnutrition during this period can have lasting, devastating effects, including stunting, which hinders cognitive development and ultimately, an individual's future economic prospects."

Positioning ECD centres as hubs of nutrition and health for young children

During the upcoming Young Child Forums held quarterly in seven communities across South Africa, Nutritionists from the Department of Health and other relevant organisations, will conduct cooking demonstrations using a recipe book tailored by UNICEF and the Department of Health for ECD centres. The practitioners and cooks will have the opportunity to sample these nutritious meals and will receive grocery vouchers to recreate them at their centres on World Food Day.

As Rose Phelembe, Chairperson of the Nkomazi Young Child Forum, highlights: “ECD centres play a crucial role in ensuring children from disadvantaged households access balanced, nutritious meals, something they might not always receive at home. The centres follow strict dietary guidelines verified by the Department of Health, which positively impacts children’s health, supporting healthy growth and development. This structured nutrition, alongside health monitoring and education, sets children up for success early on. This inclusive approach underlines the importance of ECDs not just as educational spaces, but as hubs of health and nutrition, particularly for vulnerable children.”

On World Food Day, 40 ECD centres will be assisted by local partner organisations and over 40 staff volunteers (known as DoMore Heroes) from various company sites to help them cook and serve these meals to the approximately 2,000 young children (total) in their care.

In addition to the hands-on support, these ECD centres will receive a healthy recipe book, groceries, and health and nutrition charts from Repurpose for Purpose, DO MORE’s early learning resource development programme. These resources aim to equip ECD centres with the tools they need to provide nutritious meals and track health measurements.

Working together to create better futures for young children

Rose Phelembe stresses the importance of collaboration in addressing complex challenges holistically: “Working with a wide variety of organizations and government departments allows for a comprehensive approach to tackling the issues young children face. It enables the sharing of responsibilities, with each group contributing its expertise. Whether it’s nutrition, health, or education, every stakeholder has a role in creating solutions.”

Providing essential resources, knowledge, and support to ECD centres nationwide supports every child's right to nutritious food and a healthier, brighter future for young children. The diverse range of organisations coming together for World Food Day is a testament to the power of collective action in addressing malnutrition.