Mid-Day Meal Programme crucial for improving nutritional levels of children

Over 9-crore children depend on mid-day meals to get their daily nutrition and this was disrupted by the pandemic. Closure of schools for around six months drastically took a toll on children.

“There is a need for the Government to restart the Mid-Day Meal Programme,” said health expert Dr Bevinje Srinivas Kakkilaya (New Indian Express).

Mid-day meals are a source of nutrition for children studying in Government schools. The state governments have allowed the re-opening of schools for children studying in 6th standard and above. However, the nutritional intake of primary students has been drastically deteriorating since the closure of schools following the pandemic.
School meals for children coming from challenging socio-economic backgrounds are very important. For many of them, these meals are their only wholesome meal for the day. We need to take care of their well-being. To support school-going children nationwide, The Mid-Day Meal Programme was started by the Government of India. This programme supplies free school lunches for 9.12-crore children in primary and upper-primary students of government and government-aided schools.

With the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, each primary student must get 12 grams of proteins and 450 calories per meal, while upper primary students should get 20 grams of protein and 700 calories per meal. Children are the future of a country; if they are fed and nourished well today, they will grow up to become responsible, educated and healthy citizens of tomorrow.

Many NGOs in India have joined the Government of India to implement the school meal programme. The Akshaya Patra Foundation is recognised as the world’s largest NGO-run school meal programme. This 20-year old organisation provided unlimited food for education to 1.8 million children studying 19,039 schools, every day, before the pandemic shook the nation. To support its mid-day meal beneficiaries during the tough times of the pandemic, it provided Happiness Kits. These kits supported the health, nutrition, immunity, hygiene and education of school children.

After almost six months, schools started re-opening in a phase-wise manner and Akshaya Patra resumed the mid-day meal service intending to eliminate classroom hunger for all of its 1.8 million beneficiaries with the support of online donations. As of 14 March 2021, it served freshly cooked meals to 1.75 lakh beneficiaries spread across 10 states in 56 locations. It is present in 52 locations by serving from 50 centralised and 2 decentralised kitchens of India. Donate online to Akshaya Patra to gain income tax exemption.

Benefits of donating to the NGO in India
With donations towards Akshaya Patra’s school meals, you:
• Eliminate classroom hunger
• Provide food & education
• Increase school enrolment rate
• Ensure a healthy overall development of children
• Improve attention span
• Improve attendance rate in schools

By adhering to strict hygiene and safety guidelines, it continues to provide hot and nutritious meals to its beneficiaries. Support Akshaya Patra’s feeding initiatives in places where schools haven’t re-opened yet. Contribute to the Happiness Kits Programme to help children stay in touch with studies till schools function on a large scale.