In India, Mid-Day Meal Deaths Prompt Increased Scrutiny

Aru Pande
October 23,2013

NEW DELHI — Police in northern India this week charged a principal with murdering 23 children, who died in July after eating a school lunch contaminated with pesticide. The tragedy has prompted the government to take a second look at the country's mid-day meal program - said to be the largest such scheme in the world.

It’s two o’clock in the afternoon and the courtyard outside this school is packed with students like 12-year old Rahul Bhart,i who know firsthand the importance of the chickpea and flat bread meal being served for lunch.

“If the food is not distributed, all the kids will go hungry,” said Bharti.

His statement is not an exaggeration. The mid-day meal program is a critical component of India's strategy to combat high rates of malnutrition and to boost school enrollment.

Feeding millions in need

While some states have had such programs in place for years, the Supreme Court in 2001 directed all government-run schools to provide cooked meals to primary school children. Nationwide, the program feeds at least 110 million kids in 1.2 million government schools.

Just to give you an idea of the scale of the mid-day meal scheme. At this New Delhi school alone, some 1100 students line up for a free, hot lunch comprised of lentils, grains and vegetables in order to meet nutritional guidelines.

Serving up lunch on such a huge scale, however, is not without its challenges. Earlier this year nearly two dozen children died at one primary school in impoverished Bihar state. The principal allegedly ignored warnings that the mid-day meal smelled foul and insisted it be served. Lab tests found traces of highly toxic insecticide in the cooking oil, which had been stored in the principal’s home.

The head of the national mid-day meal program, Amarjit Singh, said the central government now is working with states to ensure all schools have a separate kitchen and storage area, the meals are tasted before being served, and cooks are properly trained.

“A cascade model of training down the line on what are the nutritional components, how do you ensure safety, how do you ensure the food is tasted by a senior member before it is being fed to the kids, so those aspects - what is to be done - having an emergency plan if this happens,” said Singh.

Enforcing safety locally

Purnima Menon, a senior fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, said that although India’s mid-day meal program can be considered successful, the quality still depends on local schools. A 2010 study found problems, particularly in Bihar’s program, where the majority of students reported poor food quality.

“What is clearly needed is sort of a very clear articulation of what is the quality standard for every single school meal kitchen, for every single - whether it be the serving process or the preparation process,” said Menon.

Despite quality standards that vary from state to state and school to school, many kids like 12-year old Sahil Khan say they have no choice. They can’t learn on an empty stomach.

“If you don’t eat properly, how can you concentrate?” asked Khan.

With increased scrutiny of the mid-day meal program, families hope their children will not risk their health each time they line up for lunch.