Midday meal cooks in Andhra Pradesh get tips from chefs on dishing out tasty, nutritious food

DEOs should ensure that all children eat their lunch on the school campus, as eating and playing together fosters team spirit and camaraderie, says Principal Secretary

The Education Department is collaborating with chefs of Hotel Taj in Tirupati to prepare food items that are tasty and nutritious. | Photo Credit: G.N. RAO

Ensuring that midday meals served to children at government schools under the Jagananna Gorumudda scheme are not just nutritious but also tasty has become a focus area of the Education Department.

To achieve this, the Midday Meals (MDM) wing of the department is collaborating with chefs of Hotel Taj in Tirupati to prepare a menu of food items that are tasty and healthy. The department has prepared instructional videos wherein the chefs explain how to dish out tasty and nutritious food items and also explain their health benefits. These videos have been uploaded on @gorumudda.andhra (https://www.youtube.com/@GORUMUDDA.ANDHRA YouTube channel.

Principal Secretary, School Education, Praveen Prakash has asked the District Education Officers (DEOs) to instruct school headmasters to download the videos and share them with the 85,000 cooks working in the 44.190 schools where midday meals are served. He said those who do not have smart phones should be shown these videos on the smart TVs and the Interactive Flat Panels installed in schools. “The idea is to ensure that the food served in the schools has uniform quality and taste,” he said.

Mr. Praveen Prakash said the DEOs should ensure that all children eat their lunch on the school campus, as eating and playing together fosters team spirit and camaraderie, critical to promoting Emotional Quotient (EQ) among the young learners. He said the DEOs should explain to the parents that if they send tiffin boxes for their children, it may adversely impact their EQ.

Currently, out of the total 44,190 government schools in the State, 36,612 of them have 100% MDM consumption, 5,012 schools are in the 95-99% range, 885 schools are between 90-95%, 439 schools are between 85-90%, 353 schools are between 80-85%, 522 schools are between 50-80%, 60 schools are between 30-50% and 236 schools have below 30% consumption rate.

Mr. Praveen Prakash said in the new academic year beginning from June 12, the DEOs should ensure 100% consumption of the midday meals served to children on school campuses.