THE Cabinet has approved some $78 million to purchase items such as tinned mackerel, corned beef, rice, cornmeal and milk powder for the national school-feeding programme.

Minister of Information and Development, Donald Buchanan, said Monday that the expenditure was the sum total to be expended by the government on the programme for the schools’ easter term.

Contracts approved by the Cabinet Monday for the national school-feeding programme as announced by Buchanan were:

. $24.4 million to T Geddes Grant Limited to provide 15,000 bags of long grain rice and 2,500 cases of tinned jack mackerel;

. $14 million to Seprod Limited to supply 4,000 bags of corn meal and 2,700 cases of corned beef as well as 4,300 cases of vegetable oil;

. $5.6 million to GraceKennedy to provide 4,000 bags of counter flour; and

. $34.4 million to Betta Milk Company Limited to supply 5,000 bags of dried, skimmed milk powder and 240 drums of butter oil.

“These contracts are to support the nutribun component of the school-feeding programme and, over all, represents the government’s expenditure for this term,” Buchanan said.

The programme provides basic nutritional support for students in basic, primary, all-age and some high schools which were previously designated as comprehensive high schools.