After reopening schools on February 28, Odisha is now all set to resume the Mid-Day Meals scheme from April. This is the first time in two years that the noon meals will be offered to students since they were halted on March 13 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been announced by the School and Mass Education department. Apart from the meals, the schools will also provide iron-folic acid tablets once a week to students from Classes I to VIII. These tablets will be administered every Monday after the meals.
According to the SOPs, the school management authorities and central kitchen agencies have been asked to get their facilities in place for preparing the meals for the students from April. Additionally, the grocery that has been leftover since 2020 due to the pandemic will also be put under an edibility test to check if they can still be consumed. The stock that has expired will be duly noted by the school authorities and then buried.
Social distancing norms will be adhered to by distributing the meals in a staggered manner to various grades. COVID-19 SOPs will also have to be followed by the staff engaged in preparing the meals, said the authorities. The staff will be supervised by members of the School Management Committees and Parents Teachers Associations, after the department's decision to include these bodies in the Mid-Day Meals (MDM) process, according to a report by The New Indian Express
Similar guidelines have also been issued for central kitchen agencies or NGOs that are engaged in the MDM process. Currently, Akshaya Patra Foundation, Maana Trust, Damodar Jew Sevayatan, Mahila Sahayika Sangha, People’s Forum and Bagdanga Paschim Gheri Bishalaxmi Club are engaged in cooking and delivering MDM at schools.
