Chef Vishnu Manohar to improve midday meals

Mumbai: Soon, the students of government-run schools will be served locally produced food such as sprouts, millets, vegetables and fruits as part of their midday meal which currently includes a humble serving of Khichdi.

An eight-member state-appointed committee headed by celebrity chef Vishnu Manohar will suggest improvements in the state’s midday meal menu to enhance the quality and nutritional value of students’ diets. The committee highly recommends the inclusion of local foods, cereals, sprouts etc. in the menu.

This is for the first time that the school education department has constituted such a committee whose main aim is to incorporate millet and other nutrients in a child’s diet. The department, which released a government resolution (GR) on Thursday, stated that presently, under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana’, food recipes provided to students were determined in 2011. But reports published over the last few years have pointed out that the body mass index (BMI) of students is either low or high. The central government has also instructed states to examine the possibility of including locally available food items, cereals etc.

Chef Manohar said the main aim of the committee is to suggest different recipes so that the food given to students is wholesome, nutritious, palatable, and of quality so that the diet can improve the BMI of students. Manohar said, “The committee is also working on the inclusion of recipes based on local vegetables and fruits as local food is healthier. We will try to include food options for the students, which they love to eat and also include sprouts and millets.”

The committee of experts in the fields of health, diet, and education has been appointed to carry out scientific studies. The committee, under the chairmanship of the director of primary education, also includes Kolhapur Hotel Owners Association president Ujjwal Nageshwar, Prasad Kulkarni from Agharkar Research Institute, dietician Poonam Kadam, Business Federation executive Nitin Valke, nutritionist Archana Thombre, a representative from the Maharashtra Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Vaibhav Barekar, superintendent of Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana, and state coordinating officer Devidas Kulal.