The community of Basic School No. 1884 Doña Eusebia Cáceres, in the Colonia General Cáceres area of Itacurubí del Rosario, has turned the principal's office into the kitchen and dining room for the Hambre Cero program. The lack of adequate infrastructure forces the cooks to prepare meals in a makeshift space, especially during the cold weather.
Principal Osvaldo Lezcano said the request to build a kitchen was made to the city government at the beginning of 2025, but so far there has been no response. The school serves 60 students, from early childhood education to 6th grade, and lacks the resources to build the necessary space.
“We hope the municipal authorities speed up our request and do not let more time pass to solve the lack of a kitchen with a dining room,” Lezcano said. Cook Liliana Rodas, a student's mother, said they previously cooked in the hallway and, with the cold, moved to the principal's office with his authorization.
Mayor Raúl Soria (ANR) said the project is among the priorities of his administration but did not provide a timeline.
In San Ignacio, Misiones, eight employees of Basic School No. 702 San Ignacio de Loyola reported that the company Belmac SA, contracted to provide school lunches, requires 7 to 8-hour workdays, although the contract stipulates 5 hours. The workers say they start at 7 a.m. and leave between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., without receiving overtime pay.
According to the complaints, the company also deducts pay for days not worked on holidays or school breaks, classifying them as non-working days. When they complain, the response is that they can resign, as there are many candidates for the positions.
The representative of Belmac SA, Carlos Atilio Carlson Capli, denied receiving formal complaints and said the contracts, approved by the Ministry of Labor, provide for work hours according to the needs of each school. He added that many cooks bring their children to school and remain on site before the actual start of their shift.
The multi-year contract of Belmac SA, signed in February 2025, runs until July 2027 and totals G. 97.8 billion to serve 19,500 children in 178 schools across the 10 districts of Misiones.
Departmental councilor Augusto Galeano (PLRA) said the complaints are repeated throughout the region and that he has requested intervention from the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, with no response so far.