ORGANISATION OF THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMME
This chapter is based on the school lunch programme organised in Sri Avinashilingam Primary School which is being conducted with the cooperation of the administrators, teachers, parents and pupils following the norms presented by the Education Department or the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Organisation of the school lunch programme involved the following steps:
1. Securing financial assistance.
2. Finding space for the kitchen, lunch room and wash place.
3. Procurement of equipment.
4. Selecting children.
5. Planning menus and estimating quantities of foods to be cooked.
6. Procurement and storage of provisions.
7. Standardisation of recipes.
8. Training the cook.
9. Standardisation of servings and methods of serving.
10. Recording observations on children and their food in- takes.
11. Recording the heights, weights and other parameters of the nutritional status of children.
12. Maintenance of cleanliness in the lunch room; and
13. Conducting nutrition and health education activities.
1. Securing financial assistance The school lunch programme or the midday meal scheme as it is popularly known in Tamil Nadu, is offered free of cost in the
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primary schools. Therefore securing financial assistance on a con- tinuing basis is of a vital importance. The sources of assistance are: parents, local Mahalir Manrams, Mathar Sangams, Mahila Mandals, other voluntary organisations, particularly, service clubs such as the Rotary and Lions, philanthropists in the community, state and central governments and international agencies. Assistance for this programme was received from donations in cash, kind and labour by the community and other sectors, pupils participation and teachers' contributions in terms of service and materials.
2. Finding space for the kitchen, lunch room and wash place The space for the school lunch programme should include: kitchen for cooking, provision for serving the lunch, for storing foods and utensils, and for washing utensils, and hands. The kitchen should be well ventilated, adequate in dimensions, providing exit for cooking smells and smoke, work platforms at a convenient working height of 75 cm, consisting of areas for food preparation, cooking and washing of foods, and sinks and drain boards (Figure 4). Built-in shelves should be located conveniently to keep the daily provisions and cooking utensils. Additional storage space for keeping the serving utensils, plates and glasses, should be
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provided. The counter for serving food is a valuable provision. All these provisions must be within minimum space and cost. Based an these criteria the school lunch space at Sri Avinashilingam Primary School was planned within an area of 2251.5 sq. ft. as a room attached to the class room. Its plan is presented in Figure 5.
The lunch room should be spacious and well ventilated. The poor should be smooth and easily cleanable. The walls car. be white. They should lend themselves for displaying effectively pictures and posters to interest children in nutrition information. When the lunch room adjoins the kitchen and pantry, food service becomes convenient, efficient and quick. The surroundings of the lunch room must be pleasant. Where the primary school does not have space .-or a dining room, as is the case with a majority of the primary schools in the country, a class room can be used for the purpose during the lunch interval. In Sri Avinashilingam. Primary School, a classroom to which the school kitchen is attached, is used as the dining hall (Figure 6).
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The wash place or room adjoining the lunch room enable pupils wash their hands and plates conveniently before and after the lunch. The water taps should be at a height easily reachable by pupils. Drainage facilities and racks for putting away the plates should be provided. Figure 7 shows the arrangement made for this purpose in the school.
3. Procurement of equipment Equipment is required for the following purposes:
a. Storing provisions
b. Preparing meals
c. Measuring and weighing foods, and
d. Serving foods. Keeping these in view the equipment needed for the lunch programme were procured. The details of the equipment purchased for the lunch programme for 100 children are given in Table IV.
TABLE IV
Equipment Needed for a School Lunch Programme for 100 Children
S.No. Utensils No. Use of the Cost in Rs. ps*
needed equipment Medium Low
for cost cost
1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Stove or choola 1 Cooking 20.00 20.0
2. Vessel with lid 1 Cooking 250.00 75.0
50 cm x 72 cm cereal (Brass) (Aluminium)
3. Vessel with lid
30 cm x 45 cm 1 Cooking 100.00 35.0
dhal (Brass) (Aluminium)
4. Vessel with lid
30 cm x 45 cm 1 Preparing 100.00 35.00
payasam (Brass) (Aluminium)
5. Vessel without
lid 45 cm x 60 cm 1 Serving 75.00 30.00
(Brass) (Aluminium)
6. Laddles 2 Mixing 12.00 10.00
7. Rice spoon 1 Serving 3.50 3.50
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TABLE IV- Contd.
1 2 3 4 5 6
8. Kettle 2 Serving 38.00 38.00
water
9. 25 cm square
wooden board 1 Cutting 3.00 3.00
vegetables
10. Knife 1 Cutting 6.00 6.00
vegetables
11. Vanali 100 Seasoning 7.50 7.50
12. Aluminium plates 100 Serving 250.00 250.00
13. Aluminium tumblers 100 Serving 75.00 75.00
940.00 588.00
* As per the prices prevailing in Coimbatore in March 1980.
4. Selecting children The procedure that is being adopted in Sri Avinashilingam Primary school, for the selection of children is to send a circular to all the parents extending an invitation to their children to join the school lunch programme. On the basis of the replies from the parents (regardless of the economic need or other conditions) the children are selected. Normally the parents with higher income do not opt for their children joining the school lunch programme. This may be due to the popular notion that the midday meal programme was for feeding "the poor".
Thus the selection of the 'School Lunch' group is made on the basis of the voluntary responses of the parents regardless of their economic need or other conditions.
5. Planning menus and estimating quantities of foods to be
cooked Planning is the key for the success of the school lunch pro- gramme. The lunches must be psychologically and nutritionally satisfying. Therefore the menus for the school lunch must be planned carefully for:
(a) Nutritional adequacy;
(b) Use of available inexpensive foods;
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(c) Minimum cost;
(d) Minimum expenditure of time and labour in cooking and serving;
(c) Novelty in order to be exciting and interesting to the pupils and at the same time not drastically different from the familiar food patterns; and
(g) Attractiveness and appetising qualities.
The steps involved in planning the school lunch are:
(a) Calculation of the nutritional requirements;
(b) Selection of foods to supply the nutritional requirements;
(c) Planning menus using the selected foods; and
(d) Estimating quantities of foods to be cooked.
(a) Calculation of the nutritional requirements
From the allowances recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for children in the age range 6 to 10 years, one third of the daily requirements are computed as the nutrients and calories to be supplied by the school lunch.
(b) Selection of foods to supply the nutritional requirements
The next step is to select the foods which will provide the nutrients needed, giving priority to local low cost nutritious foods.
Parboiled rice*, Jowar (cholam), ragi, bajra (cambu) or am, can be the staple food depending upon the locality. The foods supplied by CARE, namely, bulgar wheat, corn soya milk and Balahar are given in the place of the staple food. They are used on alternate days in receipes, which are simple, attractive, tasty, and easy to cook and serve. The pulses used are red gram or green gram dhal as they are familiar to the children and could be used in recipes combined with rice.
Green leafy vegetables are included daily because of their rich nutrient content, availability throughout the year, low cost and feasibility for children to grow them in their own homes or school garden. Clusterbeans and other types of beans are the
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other vegetables used because of their higher nutritive content. As per condiments such as chillies, coriander seeds, mustard Feeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder in only very small quantities are used along with oil and salt to season the food preparations.
The nutritive value of the foods used for the midday meals: Cereals
Rice: Rice being the staple food of more than half the population in India is quantitatively the most important of the cereals. Although the protein content of rice is lower than that of many other cereals, the proteins of rice are of good quality. It has been proved that the Biological Value (BV)* and Digestibility Coefficient (DC)** of rice proteins are higher than those of any other cereal mixtures in terms of their supporting growth and maintenance. Parboiled rice contains valuable amounts of B vitamine, thiamine pantothenic acid and pyridoxine. The nutrient content of whole cereal rains including rice is higher than that of the corresponding milled grains. Parboiled rice retains a considerable proportion of its thiamine and phosphorus content. This is because some of the vitamins contained in the germ and pericarp (bran) diffuse into the grain during the parboiling process. Therefore Parboiled, handpounded or under-milled rice is nutritionally superior to highly milled raw rice.
Wheat: Wheat is another important cereal grown in India, coming next to rice and the millet, jowar (cholam). Whole wheat contains more proteins than rice. Wheat proteins have higher digestibility and Biological Values than millets.
Bajra, jowar and ragi: These are the next main cereal grains consumed by majority of people in India. They are the cheapest sources of calories. These millets contained 7 to 12 per cent protein. But when compared to that of rice the amino acid namely lysine content of these millets are deficient in quantity but the mineral content especially of calcium and iron is more than that of rice.
The nutritive value of commonly used cereals is given in Table V.
** The Digestibility Coefficient (DC) of a protein is the percentage of the ingested protein in which gains entrance into the body.
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TABLE V
Nutritive Value of Commonly Used Cereals per 100 g.
S.No. Cereals Energy Pro- Cal- Iron Caro- Thia- Ribo- Nia-
tein cium tene mine fla- cin
vin
Kcal g mg mg mg mg mg mg
1. Bajra (cambu) 361 11.6 42 5.0 132 0.33 0.25 2.3
2. Jowar (cholam) 349 10.4 25 5.8 47 0.37 0.13 3.1
3. Ragi 328 7.3 344 6.4 42 0.42 0.19 1.1
4. Rice
Parboiled,
milled) 346 13.3 9 4.0 - 0.21 0.05 3.8
5. Rice (raw milled) 345 6.8 10 3.1 - 0.06 0.06 1.9
6. Wheat 346 11.8 41 4.9 64 0.45 0.17 5.5
Pulses
Red gram dhal and green gram dhal, contain a high percentage (23.79 to 29.75%) of protein. Red gram or green gram dhal along with rice gives a protein mixture which is adequate for growth and maintenance. Pulse proteins, however, are of relatively low Biological Value because of the deficiency of the essential amino acid, methionine. Redgram protein is deficient in the amino acid tryptophan also. However, pulse proteins are rich in lysine and they are, therefore, of good supplementary value to cereal diets.
Amaranth
Amaranth, the green leafy vegetable is rich in' calcium, iron, riboflavin, vitamin A, and vitamin C. The Biological Value of the protein of amaranth is superior to those of wheat, rice or other cereals and dhals.
Jaggery
Jaggery is less expensive than refined cane sugar and provides some blood forming nutrients such as iron which cane sugar lacks.
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Oils
Gingelly oil, groundnut oil and saled oil of CARE are among the commonly used vegetable oils for cooking purposes. Coconut, linseed and mustard oil are also used in different states. All oils, contain almost 100 per cent fat, and are therefore energy rich foods.
Condiments
Condiments are the flavouring ingredients in meals. In small quantities, they are useful for increasing the flavour and palatability of meals. Some condiments are rich in minerals and other nutrients. Salt, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, chillies, onions and mustard seeds help to make foods palatable.
Planning menus
At present CARE supplies 80g of soy fortified bulgar wheat and 20g of Balahar or 100g of Balahar per day per child and 4 to 8g of oil per day per child for all the school lunch programmes in Tamil Nadu and in some other states. Apart from these, the Government of Tamil Nadu has apportioned 15 ps per child per day towards the cost of providing school lunch in all the 33,306 primary schools. Within these premises, the primary schools provide rice based meal and bulger wheat based meal on alternate days for 200 days in the year.
The menu pattern given in Table VI has been evolved for a week of six days by Sri Avinashilingam Primary School.
TABLE VI
School Lunch Menu
Days Menu
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Bulgar wheat uppuma or
Fridays Kitchedi/Greens and dhal kootu
Balahar Payasam
Papaya/Tomato/Nellikai (Amla)
Tuesdays Tamarind rice/Greens kootu
with dhal /Balahar Payasam
Papaya/Tomato/Nellikai (Amla)
Thursdays Dhal rice,
Greens and dhal kootu
Balahar Payasam
Papaya/Tomato/Nellikai (Amla).
Saturdays Lime rice
Greens and dhal kootu
Balahar Payasam
Papaya/Tomato/Nellikai (Amla)
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This menu pattern provides variety and attractiveness. The ingredients are within the stipulation of total cost of 15 ps per child per day. The cost and quantity of ingredients used per child per day through the above menu are given in Table VII and a plate of school lunch is shown in Figure 8.
TABLE VII
Quantities and Cost of Foods Included in the School Lunch Under the Tamil Nadu Midday Meal Scheme.
S.No. Foods Quan- Cost when CARE Pricing CARE
tity foods and garden foods
produce are not
g priced paise paise
1. Rice parboiled, milled 90 17.0
(8.5)*
2. Soy fortified 80 to free from 25.0
bulgar 90 CARE (12.5)*
3. Horsegram and 15 2.5 2.5
Red gram dhal
4. Green leafy 50 Free from garden
vegetables garden
5. Balahar 20 Free from
CARE 0.5
6. Jaggery 10 2.0 2.0
7. Tomato/Nellikkai/ 20 Free from garden garden
Papaya
8. Oil 8 Free from
CARE 0.8
9. Seasonings - 0.5 0.5
10. Fuel (firewood) - 0.5 0.5
11. Salary for the cook - 1.9 1.0
Total 15.0 32.8
*Cost for calculation considering that rice and soy fortified bulgar are given on alternate days.
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The nutritional contribution of this food pattern is given in Table VIII.
TABLE VIII
Nutritive Value of the School Menus (When Rice and Soy Fortified Bulgar are used in Alternate Days)
Nutrients Quantity of 1/3 of the day's
nutrients from recommended allowances
school lunch of ICMR
Calories (Kcal) 604 600
Protein (g) 15.5 10.7
Calcium (mg) 289 133-167
Iron (mg) 20.6 5-7
(Bita)Carotene (mg) 3004 578
Riboflavin (mg) 0.44 0.3
Thiamine (mg) 0.69 0.33
Ascorbic acid
(mg) 83.6 10-17