Rural school: base strategy against hunger in the Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

Twenty-two million Colombians people suffer from hunger, with children dying from malnutrition. Rural schools' contribution to implementing the Sustainable Development Goal SDG2 "Zero Hunger" on the Colombian Caribbean coast is unknown. We analyzed this situation through mixed research (descriptive analysis, SWOT, and Delphi) in four institutions of Cesar. The methodology was structured in three moments: contextualization of rural education, review of the SDG2 "Zero Hunger," and analysis of the school - SDG2 relationship. Through a case study carried out in four institutions in the municipalities of El Copey and Chiriguaná - Cesar, with the participation of 373 students and using surveys, observation, and dialogue, the current situation (diagnosis and analysis) of the school-SDG2 relationship was identified, and alternatives to promote food security in students were inferred. For this, we resorted to participatory structural analysis, using FODA, brainstorming, and validation by experts (teachers) who identified causes and consequences and proposed alternative solutions to the problem. The results show little integration between SDG´s and curricular content, also a lack of infrastructure for carrying out practices regarding the subject. Besides, a social context of families with incomes below the legal minimum wage, generalized social and food insecurity. Although, there are some public policies, these do not respond to the community's expectations regarding hunger, likewise, a divorce was observed between the school, context and universities. Finally, the study evidenced populations below the poverty line, growth of urban population compared to rural population, part of it, without adequate and sufficient food for the school day, with a scholar diet loaded with refined sugars and fats, 52% agree that they have not received aid or training on the subject, in addition to access to foods, of low nutritional value. In conclusion, there is evidence of inter-institutional disarticulation regarding SDG2 in the educational system, an example of which is lethargy and low access to meal plans and school nutritional education.