Emiratis to manage public school canteens in Dubai

Under Khalifa Foundation initiative, 80 Emirati families will manage canteens in 40 schools in Dubai and Northern Emirates.

All school canteens across the country may soon be managed by UAE nationals following an initiative that aims not only to provide healthy and affordable meals but also to create jobs and provide sustainable income for needy Emiratis.

The plan is to make healthy and quality meals available at school canteens in the price range of Dh3 to Dh7. — KT file photo used for illustrative purpose

The initiative, launched by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation (KBZF) this academic year, has tasked 80 Emirati families to manage 40 public school canteens in Dubai and the Northern Emirates in the first phase.

“As part of our annual assessment of the aid we provide students, we realised that the pocket money we give them is not enough to buy food at school canteens. So we thought it best that instead of money, we provide them healthy meals that are affordable while supporting our citizens with limited income through the management of the school canteens,” KBZF director-general Mohamed Hajji Al Khoori told Khaleej Times.

The plan is for the meals to be sold at prices of Dh3, Dh5 and Dh7, containing healthy ingredients and of a different variety every day.

The foundation has partnered with the Ministry of Education to identify the schools.

These include five schools each in Dubai, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah and 20 in Fujairah. “In the first phase, we will implement the project in select public schools. The plan is to include all public schools across the UAE and extend this to private schools at a later stage,” said Al Khoori.

Three schools in Abu Dhabi have already expressed an interest in joining the programme, according to Al Khoori, who said the foundation was currently in talks with the Abu Dhabi Education Council. Several food companies are also supporting the initiative, providing sandwiches, juices and fresh milk for the school canteens.

The Emirates Co-operative Society, which provides the sandwiches, is at the same time carrying out training for the families in catering processes, service and canteen management. While learning the trade, families are given a monthly allowance by the foundation.

“At the start, the local families don’t need a capital as much as they need support from all quarters, to train them till they are ready,” Al Khoori said.

For the pilot, two families were tasked to manage each school canteen. But for the long term, the plan is to either increase or decrease this depending on the number of students in each school.

The number of families employed will also increase in the future as more schools join the initiative.

“The Khalifa Foundation initiative of supporting these families goes hand in hand with the strategy of the UAE to privatise the education sector and create business opportunities for UAE nationals,” Al Khoori said.

He added the families were selected from those who had worked with the foundation’s Iftar meals project in the past three years, who have enough experience in providing quality foods, underwent food hygiene and safety training, and who received an eligibility certificate from the Civil Defence.

The Iftar meals initiative during Ramadan, which started in 2010, provides food for millions of fasting Muslims throughout the holy month while creating jobs for low-income Emiratis.

Established in 2007, the foundation provides aid and assistance to people — both locally and internationally — regardless of race, sex or religion.

The foundation is looking for ways to help low-income families by sourcing creative and sustainable projects that would provide them long-term financial support. -olivia@khaleejtimes.com

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