The new school year has started across Panama, but the national School Complementary Feeding Program has not. Critical supplies of milk, nutritional cookies, and fortified cream are absent from classrooms because three major public tenders remain unadjudicated. The Ministry of Education (Panama) confirmed the delays this week, attributing them to mandatory legal procedures under Panama’s public procurement law.
These contracts, valued at over 29.6 million dollars, cover the supply, transport, and delivery of breakfast items for hundreds of thousands of students. Officials state the bidding processes, which began in December, are following their normal course. The situation leaves schools without a key nutritional support program as classes proceed.
Javier Hernández, the legal advisor for the Ministry of Education, explained that no definitive date exists for awarding the contracts or beginning distribution. He cited the sequential stages required by Law 22, which governs all government contracting. The process includes evaluation reports, observation periods for bidding companies, and potential legal appeals.
“We still have a process to fulfill as established by Law 22,” stated Hernández. [Translated from Spanish] He detailed that these mechanisms can extend timelines, especially if companies file objections or legal challenges.
Once a contract is finally awarded, a final “perfection” phase must still occur. This step requires approval from the Comptroller General of the Republic, a timeline the ministry does not control. Consequently, officials cannot predict when products will reach students, as deadlines hinge entirely on legal schedules and potential participant appeals.
Three Major Tenders in Progress
According to the government’s Panama Compra portal, three separate bids are active. The largest, for fortified semi-skimmed milk, was published on December 5, 2025, with a reference price of 16.5 million dollars. It aims to provide over 38 million milk units to nearly 250,000 students across 879 schools over 37 weeks.
An evaluation committee has already issued a recommendation for award on this tender. Companies Consorcio Nevada Dicarina and Estrella Azul submitted proposals. The second tender, for enriched nutritional cream, has a reference budget of 4.09 million dollars. Published on December 26, 2025, it seeks to deliver cream to students in hard-to-reach areas.
The third and final contract is for improved nutritional cookies, with a reference price of 9 million dollars. Published on January 5, 2026, it would supply over 66 million cookie units to more than 450,000 students. Three companies have submitted proposals for this cookie contract, with bids all hovering close to the 9 million dollar reference price.
Political Scrutiny Over Milk Sourcing
The milk tender has drawn specific criticism from Deputy Raúl Pineda. He publicly questioned whether the company recommended for award on eleven regional lots plans to import milk from Costa Rica, a move he argued would harm national dairy producers. The ministry has responded that no official award has been made yet, making such criticisms premature.
Gilda Montenegro, the National Director of Nutrition and School Health at the ministry, addressed these concerns. She clarified that the tender’s terms explicitly require milk to be “100% natural, from cows, fluid, fresh, and of national production.” The evaluation committee, she noted, is an independent body that makes recommendations based on the lowest price and compliance with all mandatory requirements.
“We would be getting ahead of a procedure that also concerns us, which is the issue of inspecting and conducting the due tests,” Montenegro stated. [Translated from Spanish] She emphasized that verification of product origin and quality occurs after an award, not during the bidding evaluation phase.
This structure is standard in public procurement systems designed to ensure transparency and fair competition. The ministry’s role is to set precise technical specifications within the bid documents, then rely on independent evaluators to assess which proposal best meets them.
Immediate Impact and Next Steps
The immediate consequence is a gap in service for a program vital to student nutrition and attendance. The ministry has not announced an interim solution while the contracts undergo the final legal steps. Parents and school administrators are left waiting for a resolution to a delay rooted in bureaucratic process.
For now, the path forward remains procedural. The ministry must wait for each stage of the law to conclude for all three tenders. Only after navigating potential appeals and securing comptroller approval can it notify winning suppliers to begin production and logistics. The promised 37-week distribution clock will not start ticking until that final signature is in place.
This delay highlights the inherent tension between thorough, legally defensible contracting and the urgent operational needs of public programs. Officials maintain they are bound by the system designed to prevent waste and corruption. Critics, however, see a failure in planning and execution that ultimately affects children in the classroom. The coming weeks will determine how quickly Panama’s school meal program can get back on track.