Vedanta to provide mid-day meals

The Statesman, Feb 20, 2009
Statesman News Service

BHAWANIPATNA, Feb. 19: Vedanta Aluminum Limited (VAL), Lanjigarh, has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the district administration and the Naandi Foundation concerning the provision of mid-day meals in Lanjigarh block.
The mid-day meal scheme would provide nutritious food to about 17,000 children in 235 schools in Lanjigarh block.
The MoU was signed by VAL chief operating officer, Dr Mukesh Kumar, the Naandi Foundation national head of mid-day meals, Ms Leena Joseph, and collector Mr RS Gopalan. Children attending government-aided schools in classes one to eight will be given one nutritional meal a day, thus promoting health and concentration in students, and encouraging children from poor backgrounds to attend school regularly.
Collector Mr Gopalan pledged to extend maximum support to ensure the programme's success.
Dr Mukesh Kumar said: “In line with the Millennium Development Goal (MDG), the midday-meal scheme aims to minimise malnutrition in children in Lanjigarh block by providing nutritional food cooked in a centralised kitchen, managed by an internationally-renowned professional body. It is well known that children eating balanced, healthy meals perform significantly better at school. In addition, parents will be persuaded by the scheme to enter their children into school at an earlier age."
As per the MoU, Vedanta Aluminium would develop a centralised kitchen, where fresh food would be cooked and sent to schools. The company would also cover transportation costs. The Naandi Foundation would be responsible for cooking and management of the centralised kitchen, and also for delivering the food to the schools. Ration and other necessary items would be provided by the district administration.
Company sources say education and nutrition have always been priority issues for Vedanta’s CSR Initiative. The company is currently running 39 childcare centres in various villages in Lanjigarh block, where children are provided pre-school education and nutritious food.
The Naandi Foundation, one of the leading social organisations, was founded by Dr Reddy’s and is based in Hyderabad. The midday-meals scheme is a flagship project for the organisation, which deals with the health, nutrition and education sectors. At present, the foundation provides mid-day meals to about ten lakh school children in four states. Within Orissa, there is a similar programme set up by the foundation at Ganjam.