Peanuts for school feeding
Principal Investigator
Mark John Manary; Helene B Roberson Professor of Pediatrics; Department of Pediatrics; Washington University in St Louis School of Medicine; 660 South Euclid Avenue Campus Box 8116, St. Louis, MO USA 63110;
Co-PI
Matilda Steiner-Asiedu; Professor in Nutrition, Dean-School of Biological Science; College of Basic and Applied Sciences; University of Ghana; PO Box LG 25, Legon, Accra, Ghana;
Integrating the power of peanuts into school feeding
Area of Inquiry: Nutrition
Country focus: Ghana
Project length: 4 years
Budget: $499,732
School aged children in Ghana receive largely starchy cereals for their sporadic school meals. A nutritious school meal would likely promote better growth and school performance. This project will develop a cost effective, peanut-based school food for distribution in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa. Multiple food types, such as pastes, bars and whole peanut options will be considered in developing the final product. The project will then conduct clinical trials in Ghana to determine the effects of product consumption by youth on growth and cognitive learning. The results will help determine whether the power of the peanut, which has been such a game changer in other food aid products, can be channeled to school age children as well.
