The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)

Sprouts, sweets to be part of Maharashtr­a govt school meals

MID-DAY MEALS served in government schools across Maharashtr­a will no longer have the staple menu of khichdi or dal-rice. As many as 15 new nutritious recipes have been fixed to create a three-course mealplan, which will include sprouts and a sweet dish along with rice, lentils, legumes and vegetables.

The new menu for mid-day meal will be applicable from the current academic year 2024-25. The options include pulao prepared with peas, soyabean, masoor and vegetables, along with khichdi and rice options and sprouts. For non-vegetarian­s, there will be egg pulao, while under sweet dishes, rice-kheer, millet-pudding and sweet khichdi will be available.

With the new menu, Maharashtr­a has become the first state to bring this change in midday meals in government schools under the PM POSHAN scheme. The new menu intends to increase nutrition value. Money will be given to schools to make arrangemen­ts for the ingredient­s that are not provided by the government.

A Government Resolution issued by the school education department said the menu will ensure that no dish is repeated for at least two weeks .“the local administra­tion will decide the schedule of the menu,” stated the GR.

In instructio­ns to prepare the meal plan, the GR suggests that local authority shall decide one each day from 12 different meal options. The GR is attached with a detailed recipe for each of the dishes on the menu, including a salad of sprouts with appropriat­e measuremen­t of ingredient­s for one child. The GR mentions that the measuremen­t is such that there will be spare raw material, which can be then used to make rice-kheer and other items.

An official from the school education department, however, said that this may not be enough as there are some new items required to make a few dishes. “Tender for mid-day meal ingredient supply will now also include obtaining soya chunks for pulao. The state has written to the centralgov­ernment for support in acquiring mill et for the pudding ,” said the official.

For other items required to be procured, the state will shift a small part of midday-meal funding to schools. Director of school education (primary) is tasked to oversee the expenditur­e. “If required,additional­arrangemen­tof moneycanbe­made,”thegrsaid.

The official said, “This money can be used by schools to procure items such as milk powder, jaggery, sugar, etc. But for vegetables to be used in mid-day meals, schools are encouraged to run kitchen gardens.”

Following the Central guidelines to include local food-items in mid-day meals, Maharashtr­a’s school education department formed a committee last year to revise the mid-day meal menu. Apart from government officials, the committee included celebrity chef Vishnu Manohar.

The committee initially suggested an exhaustive menu, which can be prepared with simple recipes. “But it was put under revision as it would have required a variety of raw ingredient­s. It was important to stick to the existing list of raw materials for convenient and effective implementa­tion of the plan. The committee reworked the menu and a new list was made,” said the official.