As schools resume amid economic recession, parents have canvassed for home-made food for wards.
According to them in separate interviews, giving them money for lunch in school may no longer be sustained.
A cross section of parents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday said this became necessary due to the inflation in food prices and transportation fares.
For instance, Mrs Helen Solomon, a trader, said it was necessary “during this period to find alternative means of surviving in order to cut cost.’’
Solomon said that she had decided to start making meals for her children to take to school, saying home-made food was cheaper and healthier.
She noted that some children did not like going to school with home-made meals, however, she appealed to parents to encourage their children to appreciate it.
“ Before now, N150 could buy two meat pie and one economy juice pack each for my children as lunch but now prices have gone up and that same amount cannot even afford one of the item.
“It is not as if my business is flourishing; previously I used to record impressing sales but now I hardly make sales,’’ she said.
Similarly, Mrs Fatima Kabir, a bank worker, said that although her kids were being fed in school, the school had increased the price of feeding.
Kabir said that she had decided to start making food for her children because she could no longer afford the price at school.
“I actually do not like my kids to eat outside because I am not sure of how the food was made.
“Some of these drinks that we buy are made with colour, flavor and a lot of sugar and we buy them for N100 or N150 or even more.
“One can get oranges of N100, squeeze out the juice and give your wards; it makes them healthier and you have saved some money,’’ Kabir said.
She, therefore, advised parents to always create time to prepare meals for their children as it would save cost.
Mrs Titilayo Opeyemi, a civil servant, said it had become necessary to find alternative ways to save cost to run the home because of the present economic situation.
She said that cooking for the children at home to take to school would enable her save some money and also discourage the children from eating outside.
“I have discovered that cooking for the children everyday to take to school has helped me to save some money that I can channel to do something else.
“Now eating out is so expensive, snacks you could buy for N50 is now N100. So it is better to use that money to buy food stuff and cook for them,’’ she observed.
Opeyemi added that given children food from home would also discourage them from consuming a lot of unhealthy processed.(NAN)