Better mid-day meals soon

After a recent episode of food poisoning caused due to mid-day meal in a Jogeshwari school, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have decided to pull up its shocks and bring the necessary changes. BMC’s education department has permitted Citizens Association Child Rights, an NGO, to hold workshop sessions for self help groups to help them improve the quality of mid-day meal, and serve variety of kichdis with the help of expert nutritionists.

There are 257 self help groups in the city that serves midday meal to students of around 2,400 aided and BMC schools. The first session of the workshop was held in the first week of December in which around 70 such groups, including their helpers and cooks took part.

A BMC education official said, “The self help groups are not just being given sessions by the nutritionists about how to improve the quality of food, but are also being trained to cook variety of khichdis that students will love to eat.”

Nitin Wadhwani, founder director, CACR, said, “After our interaction with the groups, we will be submitting a complete proposal with suggestions to BMC for necessary improvements.”

At least 27 students of Balvikas Vidya Mandir at Jogeshwari suffered food poisoning and landed in hospital due to vomiting and nausea following their mid-day meal served by a self help group, Chafai Mahila Bacchat Gat. The BMC immediately served notice to the school to stop the self help group’s service.