As a result of rising prices for vegetables, fruits, and pulses, government-funded school meals are being reduced after nearly two years of high food inflation in India.
The inflationary impact of food on the nation’s most needy and the widening gap between the rich and the poor in the world’s fastest-growing major economy are brought into sharp focus by the three-decade-old program, which was designed to encourage poor children to attend school and provide them with basic nutrition.
According to interviews conducted by Reuters with 21 teachers from four states, a dozen families, and researchers, schools have been forced to cut back on essential ingredients because the meal budget provided by the program has not increased over the past two years despite rising food costs.
On September 24, 2024, students sit in a classroom of a government-run upper primary school in the village of Ghugudipada, which is located in the Nayagarh district of the eastern state of Odisha, India.— Reuters/Stringer According to information on the scheme’s website, the program serves an estimated 120 million children in a million government and government-aided schools through eighth grade. The quality of the food provided is managed by school administrators and teachers.
Dipa Sinha, an independent development economist and researcher who collaborates with the “Right For Food” campaign, an informal non-governmental network of organizations and individuals, stated, “Budget for the mid-day meal scheme is not indexed to inflation regularly as it should be, compromising the quality of the meal.”
Sinha stated, “While the government provides free grain for these meals, that does not compensate for a reduction in other nutrient-dense ingredients like milk, eggs, vegetables, and pulses due to inadequate budgets.”
On September 25, 2024, a child is served lunch at a government-run upper primary school in the village of Ghugudipada, which is located in the district of Nayagarh, in the eastern state of Odisha, India.— Ranjit Nayak, an example of this, is an 8-year-old boy who lives in the Ghugudipada village, which is 150 kilometers from Bhubaneshwar, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Odisha.
The five members of Ranjit’s family can afford to provide him and his 4-year-old brother with little more than boiled rice on most days on their daily wages of approximately 250 Indian rupees ($2.98).
Although the school frequently provides him with his first meal of the day, the recent increase in the cost of food has left an unpleasant aftertaste.
Arati Nayak, Ranjit’s 26-year-old mother, said, “My son is sometimes satisfied with the school meal, but on other days it’s just yellow water with hardly any dal (lentils).” Arati weaves dry leaves into disposable plates for 25 rupees per day.
According to Chhabi Nayak, head of the managing committee at the Ghugudipada school, providing students with a nutritious meal has been difficult due to the rising costs of cooking oil, vegetables, and potatoes.
He stated that in order to control costs, the school selects a less expensive variety of lentils and avoids more nutritious vegetables like carrots.
On September 25, 2024, 8-year-old Ranjit Nayak runs to receive his lunch at a government-run upper primary school in the eastern state of Odisha, India, while shielding himself from the rain with a serving plate.— Reuters/Stringer
