School feeding's GH¢2.1bn works out at about GH¢2.40 a meal as caterers push for more

The 2027 Budget gives the Ghana School Feeding Programme GH¢2.1 billion (Budget Statement para 1567). Spread across the 4.53 million pupils the programme fed daily in 2026, and the 193 school days in the 2026/27 academic calendar, that is about GH¢2.40 a pupil a day.

Caterers now get GH¢2.00.

That holds only if every cedi went on food and pupil numbers did not grow. The Budget came two days after the programme's head said caterers had appealed for a higher grant.

Caterers want a higher grant

On 10 November, MyXYZ Online reported that the programme's National Coordinator, Hajia Fati Forgor, said efforts were under way to raise the grant after appeals from caterers. According to the report, she said an official announcement would follow. MyXYZ did not quote her own words or give a figure.

The grant went from GH¢1.50 to GH¢2.00 a child a day, a 33% rise (para 1423). The Gender Minister, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, told Parliament on 24 June that "the tax component has also been taken off so that the caterers can have the full amount", Citi Newsroom reported.

Checking the calendar

Our earlier LEAP story found that GH¢2.1 billion would buy about 232 days of meals at GH¢2.00. It flagged that the school calendar had not been checked. We have now checked it.

The Ghana Education Service's 2026/27 calendar for basic schools runs three terms: 8 September to 17 December, 5 January to 25 March, and 20 April to 22 July. That is 199 weekdays. GES said each term includes a two-day mid-term break.

Graphic Online and MyJoyOnline give the first-term dates as 5 and 6 November; they do not list the dates for the other two terms. Taking off six mid-term days leaves 193 school days, before public holidays.

At GH¢2.00 for 4.53 million pupils, a school day costs GH¢9.06 million. Over 193 days, that is GH¢1.75 billion. That leaves up to GH¢351 million, or about 17% of the allocation, for anything else.

The Budget does not say what that covers. At GH¢2.00, the full GH¢2.1 billion would feed about 5.4 million pupils for 193 days.

Smaller rises each year

Funding has risen every year, but more slowly each time. The allocation was GH¢1.393 billion in 2024, GH¢1.788 billion in 2025 and GH¢1.982 billion in 2026, the minister said.

That is +28.4%, then +10.9%. The 2027 rise is 6.0%.

School feeding allocation, GH¢ billion

Year-on-year change above each column. 2027 (red) is a Budget allocation, published to one decimal place.

1.393

+28.4%1.788

+10.9%1.982

+6.0%2.1

2024

2025

2026

2027 Budget

Source: Ministry of Finance, 2027 Budget Statement paras 1423 and 1567; Gender Minister Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey via MyJoyOnline, 6 Oct 2026 (2025 figure and three-decimal values). StatsGH calculation.

The Budget targets end-2027 inflation of 8.0% (para 796). If prices rise that much, the 2027 allocation would be about 1.9% smaller in real terms than 2026's.

Appendix 3C, "Economic Classification of Central Gov't Expenditure", lists only GH¢2.26 billion for "Transfers for Social Protection (LEAP,SFP,CG, Others)" in 2027, less than the GH¢3.2 billion named for LEAP and school feeding. The Statement does not explain the gap.

What people on X are saying

@GhanaNewsGuide noted that "The allocations represent planned expenditure for 2027, with actual disbursement and implementation still to be monitored." @TheEducationDes shared news that the programme "has begun a nationwide inspection exercise".

The Custodian reports that this began on 9 November in selected schools in all 16 regions.

What it means

The 2027 sum leaves caterers some room for a rise, but not much. A GH¢2.40 grant would use the whole allocation, with nothing left for more pupils or other costs.

Limitations

The 2027 budget year runs January to December. It covers the end of the 2026/27 school year and the start of 2027/28, whose calendar is not out yet. We used the 2026/27 calendar as a guide.

Public holidays in term time were not deducted. Fewer days would raise the affordable rate per meal. Mid-term dates for the second and third terms were not published in the calendar reports we checked; the six-day deduction assumes those breaks also fall on weekdays, as the first-term break does.

The 4.53 million figure is for 2026. The Budget gives no 2027 pupil target.

The 2026 allocation is GH¢1.98 billion in the Statement and GH¢1.982 billion in the minister's remarks. The 2027 sum is given only as GH¢2.1 billion, so the per-meal figure is only as precise as that rounding.

School feeding's GH¢2.1bn works out at about GH¢2.40 a meal as caterers push for more

Caterers want a higher grant

Checking the calendar

Smaller rises each year

What people on X are saying

What it means

Limitations

Sources

Comments

Figures used

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