School gardens a lifeline for hungry Cambodian children

Among the spinach crops at a rural Cambodian school garden, children test their maths skills while weighing produce – but as food prices rise, the vegetable patch has become a safety net for struggling families.

Long before Covid-19 restrictions ravaged the economy, malnutrition and poverty stalked Cambodia’s youth, the legacy of decades of conflict and instability following the Khmer Rouge’s genocidal rule in the 1970s.

Food insecurity has worsened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stoked global shortages and inflation.

The World Food Programme (WFP) says the prices of local staples have shot up in the past year: duck eggs by more than 20 percent and cooking oil by almost 40 percent.

Noodle seller Chhon Puthy, 31, has lost half her income during the pandemic and worries about her children’s health.

“Our parents had to reduce our rations sometimes,” said the mother-of-two from the village of Chroy Neang Nguon, about two hours from Siem Reap.

In recent months, her family has come to rely on the garden and free breakfast program at her children’s school to ease the financial pressure.