MCD school meals in Delhi are set for a wider menu from November, with oats cookies, fruit, kheer and sambar rice among the items being considered for children across nearly 1,500 municipal schools, officials said on Wednesday.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has asked the new agencies that will operate its school kitchens to add at least one special item to the regular meal every day. Officials said the aim is to make nutritious food more appealing and encourage children to eat the meals rather than become bored with a repetitive menu.
“Oatcakes and cookies are among the options being considered, apart from fruit and kheer,” a senior MCD official said. The official added that food could be prepared in different forms using the same ingredients so that children are more likely to consume it.
The revised menu is expected to include sambar rice, while existing meals such as puri-aloo, dal-rice and chole-rice will continue. Officials also said the agencies would be asked to introduce greater variety in the preparation of meals. Halwa made from wheat and ragi is planned twice a week.
The MCD said the approach would focus on changing preparation methods rather than removing popular dishes. “On days when puri-aloo is served, children like it. We want them to eat everything, so the effort is to change the preparation rather than simply remove an item from the menu,” another official said.
The changes are being planned as the civic body prepares to transfer its school kitchens to a new group of agencies. The tender was floated around two months ago, and surveys of shortlisted kitchens are currently under way. Officials said 13 new vendors are expected to be appointed, with the agencies likely to be finalised by the following week.
The selected agencies will have to introduce the additional menu items using their available kitchen infrastructure. Menu planning is being undertaken locally across zones. Meals that are expected to remain in rotation include puri-sabzi, dal-chawal, chole-chawal, rajma-chawal and kadhi-chawal.
Under the Centre’s PM POSHAN nutrition norms, a school meal must provide 450 calories and 12 grams of protein per child per day at the primary level. The MCD said food quality is checked every month through third-party laboratories. The introduction of idli-sambar, however, remains pending because specialised bulk-cooking equipment would require additional funds.
The next step is the finalisation of the new kitchen agencies and completion of the ongoing kitchen surveys before the revised menu is introduced from November.
