It’s been one of India’s biggest free meal programs, the midday meal scheme, providing free food to more than 120 million school children. But the project is struggling, with food price inflation causing widespread concern about food quality and safety.
According to the World Bank, nearly 400 million people in India live on less than $1.25 per day. And nearly half of its children under five are malnourished.
The Indian government runs programs like the midday meal scheme to provide free lunch to more than 120 million school children, to fight malnutrition and encourage school attendance. But food price inflation is making it hard for schools to cope.
Teachers at a government run-school, which provides free meals to more than 400 students in Gorakhpur city, say the sudden rise in food prices has forced them to compromise on both quality and quantity.
India’s mid-day meal scheme has already come under fire over food safety.
In July, 23 children died in Bihar state after eating a meal laced with pesticide in one of India’s deadliest food poisoning outbreaks in years.
India, which has more hungry mouths to feed than any other country in the world, continues to use highly toxic pesticides that are banned elsewhere.
According to one study, 76,000 people die each year in India from pesticide poisoning.
Source: CCTV
