Soon, students of government-run schools will be served multigrain foods
The eight-member committee headed by celebrity chef Vishnu Manohar submitted a report to the state education minister. “To get good quality of food, the government must increase the remuneration of the person or organisations appointed to prepare midday meals,” the report stated
Mumbai: Soon, students of state-run schools can look forward to a lunch of either idli, multi-grain paratha, rawa idli, kesari idli, multi-grain khichdi and barnyard millets, as part of their midday meal, in place of the humble serving of khichdi they now get. The revamped menu comes after a state-appointed committee suggested improvements in the midday meal menu to enhance the quality and nutritional value of students’ diets in government-run schools.
The eight-member committee headed by celebrity chef Vishnu Manohar submitted a report to the state education minister. “To get good quality of food, the government must increase the remuneration of the person or organisations appointed to prepare midday meals,” the report stated.
An official from the state education department said that reports published over the last few years have pointed out that the body mass index (BMI) of students is either low or high. “The central government has also instructed states to examine the possibility of including locally available food items, cereals, etc. in midday meals. We received a report with the recipes of the food items. We will review these suggestions on the viability prospects and finalise them very soon,” the official added.
This is the first time the school education department constituted such a committee whose main aim was to incorporate millet and other nutrients in a child’s diet. The committee also suggested that food items be prepared in sunflower oil instead of soybean oil, and four types of grains must be included in the multigrain parathas.
The committee also included Ujjwal Nageshwar, director of primary education, Kolhapur Hotel Owners Association president, Prasad Kulkarni from Agharkar Research Institute, Poonam Kadam, a dietician, Nitin Valke, Business Federation executive, Archana Thombre, a nutritionist, Vaibhav Barekar, a representative from the Maharashtra Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Vaibhav Barekar and Devidas Kulal, superintendent of Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana, and state coordinating officer.
