Mid-Day Meal Survey for School Students: Department of PG Studies in Food Science & Nutrition

The Department of PG Studies in Food Science & Nutrition organized a survey on the mid-day meal program for students on 2nd MSc FSN who were made into teams 3 assigning each day for a week from 06th Feb 2024-13th Feb 2024 for evaluation & were asked to evaluate how mid-day meal services are provided to the higher primary & high school children of Besant institution. The lecturer in charge was Ms. Nireeksha V, Assistant Professor, MSc FSN. The meal pattern on all days comprised of milk in the morning which is around 150ml, followed by either peanut chikki or corn mixture that is served around 9.30 am after the school prayer. Next lunch is served at 12.30 pm and comprises rice, vegetable sambar, palya or usli or papad, pulav, curd & so on. On day 1 (06th Feb), the students were provided with milk & corn mixture in the morning , followed by rice, veg sambar, curd along with peanut chikki in case of higher primary students whereas the high school students were provided with pulav, curd & payasam for lunch. On day 2(07th Feb) both the higher primary & high school students had same menu of milk & peanut chikki for the morning followed by rice, sambar & channa usli in the noon. The third day (08th Feb) had a menu similar to previous day but the students of the higher primary had payasam which was replaced by papad in the case of high school kids. The fourth day (09th Feb) had the identical menu as the previous day whereas on the fifth day (12th Feb) same menu was provided with no accomplishments such as papad or curd. On the last day (13th Feb) the higher primary students had an identical menu as the previous day, whereas the high school students had jeera rice & veg curry.

On analyzing each day's menu the students felt that the milk was watery as the milk powder used was less by the care-taker to prevent an excess of protein overload on the kid's body where as in case of the sambar they felt that the consistency was watery & it had fewer vegetables & dhal. However, the food was served hot as it was delivered in insulated containers. The students felt that the use of corn mixture could be replaced by puffed rice for better calories along with jaggery. The measurement was done based on the ladle size as instructed by the government.

On the whole, the students had a reality check on how mid-day meal is served at school level & what are the factors which will affect the intake of the child.