Colombia's School Feeding Program Faces Worker Salary Delays and Service Interruptions

The government of the Nariño department announced a temporary suspension of the School Feeding Program (PAE) from July 21 to July 24, affecting roughly 62,000 of the 116,000 enrolled students. Indigenous and Afro‑Colombian communities continued to receive meals through separate schemes, and schools adopted contingency measures to ensure child nutrition. The interruption was linked to contractual adjustments aimed at formalising food‑handling staff; the department now reports that all 2,369 women employed as manipulators have been fully formalised with improved wages ranging from about $630,000 to $1,560,000 per month.

In Villavicencio, dozens of PAE workers—including drivers, auxiliaries and food handlers—staged protests over two‑month delays in salary payments and unpaid benefits. The demonstrators said the lack of wages threatens the livelihoods of around 300 families, with many workers reporting missing contributions to health, pension and severance funds, as well as unpaid overtime and insufficient work equipment. The workers called for urgent intervention from authorities to resolve the arrears and restore proper labor conditions.