A group of activists has written a letter to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to withdraw the decision to partner with Akshay Patra Foundation for providing free breakfast and midday meals to 28,000 school children in Kodangal.
The 14 signatories of the letter wrote that they are “deeply concerned with the attempts at moving towards a centralised kitchen model in partnership with private and religious organisations, rather than strengthening the current system of local communities and women cooking in schools, in a decentralised manner”.
They are concerned that Akshay Patra Foundation, which is a part of the Hare Krishna Charitable Foundations, might impose their own dietary restrictions on the children.
The letter read: “Religious organisations such as the Hare Rama-Hare Krishna Foundation often have their own agenda and opinions on food that are forced upon the local communities. For instance, this foundation in Karnataka refused to include onion-garlic in the food as these are believed to be not ‘satvik’. Furthermore, these organisations do not serve eggs and meat due to their religious beliefs. We have learnt of similar experiences from Jharkhand as well, and the same is being resisted by many Adivasi students.”
BRS leader Dr RS Praveen Kumar had raised the same concern a few days ago. Taking to X, he wrote: “Please think twice on giving contract of food preparation to organisations like Akshyapatra. Will this proposed centralised kitchen run by akshayapatra involve cooking meat dishes as well? Meat/fish/egg, in addition to leafy vegetables and cereals, is an important part of diet as it is a rich source of protein and vitamins according to established science. I have nothing against Akshay Patra, but I am certainly against imposing an alien food habit on poor and voiceless kids, no matter however ‘satvik’ it is [sic].”
The letter echoed the sentiment. “As you know, inclusion of eggs in mid-day meals and anganwadi centres in the state has been appreciated all over the country. This not only makes the meals nutritionally far superior but also more popular among the people of the state. In a state like Telangana, onion, garlic, eggs etc. must necessarily be integral to the diet of children, who would like to consume them.”
They have requested that instead of partnering with a centralised kitchen like Akshay Patra, the government should work towards strengthening the decentralised cooking model. This will not only create employment opportunities for local communities, including women, but also enable kids to have meals based on their taste preferences. In support of this, they quoted the National Food Security Act, 2013.
They wrote that the Act states: “Every school, referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1), and anganwadi shall have facilities for cooking meals, drinking water and sanitation” (5.2) with an exception only being allowed in urban areas to include facilities for centralised kitchens, where required. This understanding was arrived at, as a result of a number of discussions and deliberations, both within and outside Parliament.”
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