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The Uttar Pradesh state government is working towards providing hot meals to children aged 3 to 6 at Anganwadi centers and is considering a standardized menu for the efficient operation of the Mid-Day Meal scheme.
According to the proposal, the same meals that are served to students in basic schools will be provided to children at Anganwadi centers. After Diwali, the Anganwadi children will be offered meals prepared in government schools.
This proposal was recently presented during a state-level task force meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra. The task force will make a decision, and it may receive approval from the chief minister, as per a government press release.
Priority will be given to millets in the preparation of hot cooked food.
The proposal states that around 65 percent of Anganwadi centers in the state are situated on the premises of primary and upper primary schools. Consequently, the meals will be prepared in the kitchens of these schools, resulting in a menu similar to the PM Nutrition Scheme (Mid-Day Meal).
The weekly menu includes items such as roti with seasonal vegetables, soybean, and fresh fruit on the first day, rice with dal and vegetables on Tuesday, ‘tahari’ with seasonal vegetables and soybeans on Wednesday, roti with dal and vegetables on Thursday, and tahari with seasonal vegetables and soybeans on Friday and Saturday.
During the meeting, the chief secretary directed officials to ensure that hot meals are prepared in the co-located Anganwadi centers and made available to the children by cooks in kitchens near primary and upper primary schools. Anganwadi centers within a 200-meter radius should be connected to the nearest primary school.
Mishra emphasized that the responsibility for delivering the prepared meals to the Anganwadi centers and serving them to the children should be assigned to Anganwadi helpers. In cases where two schools are within a 200-meter radius, priority should be given to the closest primary and upper primary schools.
