The Public Affairs Officer at the United States Embassy in Banjul, Andrew Posner, has disclosed that American citizens have invested US$28.5 million, approximately D2.1 billion, in school feeding, literacy and nutrition programmes in The Gambia through the United States Department of Agriculture’s McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Programme.
Posner made the disclosure on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, at the launch of the National Nutrition Policy 2026-2035 and its accompanying Strategic Plan 2027-2031, held at the Banjul International Conference Centre.
He said the investment reflects the United States’ commitment under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump to ensuring that foreign assistance delivers measurable results, strengthens partner countries and represents responsible stewardship of American taxpayers’ resources.
According to him, the investment comes with a clear expectation that the gains made through the programme will produce lasting results that are owned and sustained by Gambians.
He said the programme, implemented by Catholic Relief Services through the NDOKK programme, represents a partnership between American and Gambian farmers.
“The commodities in those 186 schools were grown by American farmers, so this programme strengthens rural America as surely as it strengthens rural Gambia,” Posner said.
He disclosed that an additional US$2 million, equivalent to about D146 million, has been spent on local procurement, supporting Gambian farmers, markets and food systems.
“America is stronger when its partners are strong. A Gambian child who eats a nutritious meal at school today becomes a healthier, better educated, more productive citizen tomorrow,” he said.
Posner said the programme had, as of July this year, served more than 18.9 million hot meals to schoolchildren across the country.
He added that every school day, about 63,000 Gambian children in 186 schools receive a nutritious meal under the programme.
More than 4,400 metric tonnes of American-grown commodities have also been delivered to Gambian classrooms, while 64 school water extensions have been completed.
He said school gardens had produced more than 20 metric tonnes of fresh food, helping to connect school nutrition with local food production and community participation.
Beyond school feeding, Posner highlighted the programme’s contribution to household resilience. He said 1,521 members of community savings groups in communities around participating schools had collectively saved more than D6.2 million, with women accounting for 88 percent of the membership.
He said the programme’s broader objective is to ensure that children are not only fed but are also healthy and able to learn.
“Through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s McGovern-Dole Food for Education and Child Nutrition Programme, we are working towards two goals at once: children who can read, and children who are well nourished enough to learn,” he said.
Posner stressed that sustainability must be embedded in policies, institutions, financing and community structures from the outset.
He said the newly launched National Nutrition Policy provides a framework for aligning government, communities and development partners behind national nutrition priorities while strengthening institutions responsible for sustaining progress.
“It turns the gains of McGovern-Dole from programme achievements into Gambian systems. Our goal has always been a Gambian-led, Gambian-financed school feeding programme that endures long after,” he noted.
He said the true value of the policy would ultimately be measured by its implementation and its ability to translate national ambitions into improved nutrition, stronger institutions and healthier communities.
