Objectives of Mid Day Meal

Would you be able to learn if hunger was your classroom companion?

Classroom hunger affects children’s ability to learn and grow. To solve this challenge, Akshaya Patra began the Food for Education initiative which is continuously making an effort to enable children from over 22,367 schools in India.

On August 15, 1995, the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and in the year 2001, the Supreme Court of India ordered all the state governments and union territories to implement the PM POSHAN Abhiyaan (formerly known as the MDM Scheme) and provide cooked meals to school children from government and government-aided schools.  

With support from the central and state governments, Akshaya Patra began operating its school lunch programme in 2000 and has inculcated a set of rules and guidelines related to child health and growth—the quantity of calories and proteins required for children from specific age groups, the quantity of grains that can be allotted to each child and so forth. With an effective Public-Private Partnership model, we have been able to serve mid-day meals for 22 years.

The objectives of MDM as issued by the government:

•    Improving the nutritional status of children in classes I-X in Government, Local Body and Government aided schools, and EGS and AIE centres.

•    Encouraging children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly and help them concentrate on classroom activities.

•    Providing nutritional support to children of primary stage in drought affected areas during summer vacation.

While focusing on improving nutritional level and attendance, Akshaya Patra also aims to address two Sustainable Development Goals: Zero Hunger and Quality Education.

 

Know more about Akshaya Patra’s role as an NGO