A dimension within Forest Foods & School Meals
Focuses on preventing child malnutrition through initiatives like PDS and mid-day meals.
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Overall Community Sentiment
AI-synthesised pieces woven from many community voices on this theme. They may contain errors or interpretation — they're a reflection of the stories, not a record of fact.

By incorporating local, traditional grains like ragi and millet into school lunch programs, communities can significantly improve children's health and well-being.

Our community advocates for the integration of traditional, locally sourced foods into public programs to nourish children and preserve cultural heritage for future generations.

To preserve our health and culture, we advocate for the inclusion of native, nutritious grains in public food programs.

By embracing our ancestral foods, language, and traditions, we can nourish our children and strengthen our community's identity and well-being.
Millet food should be included in PDS and mid-day meals.
— Tankeswar Kumar · Kalahandi, Odisha
Millet food should be included in PDS and midday meals.
— Tankeswar Kumar · Kalahandi, Odisha
Nutritious food items like ragi should be introduced in mid-day meals and PDS.
— Sunil oraon · Gumla, Jharkhand
Millet should be included in PDS and mid-day meals.
— Tankeswar Kumar · Kalahandi, Odisha
The government should promote the most nutritious foods easily available in our region, such as kodo, kutki, maize, along with tur dal, gram, and horse gram lentils, and include them in PDS and mid-day meals.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Kodo, kutki, maize porridge, along with horse gram, moong, and rahat dal, should be given in mid-day meals and also included in the PDS.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
The most nutritious locally available moong dal and urad dal should be included in PDS and mid-day meals.
— AbhiLL Ipsa
Amla pickle should be included in mid-day meals among local forest food items, and traditional produce like Kodo, Kutki, maize, and pulses like Kurthi, Moong, Chana, and Rahar should be included in PDS.
— Rupesh Maravi
The government should include millet in PDS or mid-day meals.
— Kusha Mahakud
The traditional nutritious food of our community like Kodo, Kutki, maize, sorghum, wheat, arhar, sesame, masoor, moong, chana, batla etc. should be included in PDS (Public Distribution System) and mid-day meals, and the government should promote them.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Our traditional nutritious food like kodo, kutki, maize, sorghum, wheat, etc., as khichdi and dalia should be given in mid-day meals, and it would be great if the government also includes such grains in PDS.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Kodo, kutki, maize, and sorghum porridge, and also indigenous pulses, should be included in the midday meal, and it would be very good if the government promotes them.
— Rupesh Maravi · Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh
Include forest-based food items such as Mahua laddoo, Chaar laddoo, Fuljhi, etc., in the Public Distribution System (PDS) and mid-day meals.
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
Kodo kutki, maize, wheat, and kulthi and pigeon pea grown in our region should also be included in mid-day meals and PDS.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
To include forest-based foods like Mahua ladoo, Char ladoo, Phuljhi, etc., in PDS and midday meals.
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
The most nutritious locally edible forest food items should be included in PDF mid-day meals, and the government wants to promote their nutritional value for children.
— Laxmanlal
While promoting our traditional grains, the government should also include them in PDS and mid-day meals.
— Rupesh Maravi · Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh
Our traditional crops like Kodo, Kutki, maize, Rahar, Kurthi, chickpeas, and other pulses should also be given in schools and Anganwadi centers under the Midday Meal Scheme, and they should also be promoted by the government.
— Rupesh Maravi · Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh
Hemant Sha village Nilaji: Forest-based millets and Gurji traditional food should be included in PDS and mid-day meals. This will help in the mental and physical development of children.
— RUDRA PRASAD BAG · Jagānpadar, Nuapada, Odisha
The govt should include green leaves, roots and millers can be introduced in PDS and MDM for better protein adding in infant food.
— Bindhani Bibhuti · Tamando, Khordha, Odisha
Our native little millet, kodo, maize, sorghum, arhar, urad, kulthi, moong, and soybean should also be included in the government's ration card and in our school's midday meal.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
Millet and horse gram should be included in the midday meal.
— Kachala Choudhary
The most nutritious local food items to be included in PDS and Mid-Day Meal are pulses, as they are an excellent source of protein, fiber, and essential minerals. Additionally, leafy green vegetables like spinach, and local seasonal fruits like guava, berries, and dates should also be included as they are rich in vitamins.
— Jagannath Baraik · Lapung, Ranchi, Jharkhand
Yes, our local foods like Kodo, Kutki, and wheat porridge should also be included in the midday meal, and the government should also promote similar food items.
— Rupesh Maravi · Mandla, Madhya Pradesh
It would be good if the government provided highly nutritious foods like banana, sweet potato, yam, and sago through PDS in mid-day meals.
— anita khora · Sutipadar, Koraput, Odisha
Our traditional crops like Kodo, Kutki, Maize, Jowar, Bajra, Kangni, Rahar, and Kurthi should be included in mid-day meals and the PDS, and if the government also promotes them, it can definitely happen.
— Rupesh Maravi · Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh
Sir, what kind of nutritious food should the government provide us through PDS? And in schools, definitely in the midday meal, and millet, root vegetables, then forest produce, which are fruits, if these are definitely given to the students as encouragement, then the children's malnutrition can be eliminated.
— Dillip pujari · Phiringia, Kandhamal, Odisha
It would be good if all the nutritious foods found in the forest such as Lepherasā, Kachar sāg, Gukurijīv sāg, Kaḍī, Heḍuā, Chhati, Ruguḍā are added to the Mid-Day Meal PDS.
— RINA BEHERA · Hemagiri, Sundargarh, Odisha
Moong dal is a nutritious food, it should be included in school mid-day meals.
— Tankeswar Kumar · Kalahandi, Odisha
The local forest foods most crucial for tackling severe malnutrition are Charo, Kendu, and Pitalukanda, which should be promoted by the government by providing them in PDS and midday meals.
— Pankajini Chhatria
It would be good if the government promoted these most nutritious forest foods like bananas, karadi, and kandhamula in PDS (Public Distribution System) and mid-day meals.
— anita khora · Sutipadar, Koraput, Odisha
Mahua flowers and other foods obtained from the forest are very nutritious. Therefore, it is appropriate to include these foods in PDS or mid-day meals.
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
Moong dal is a nutritious food. It should be included in school mid-day meals.
— Tankeswar Kumar
To provide more nutrition for the physical and mental development of children, ragi and mandua should be included in school midday meals.
— Sunil oraon · Ranchi, Jharkhand
If forest foods like Char, Mahua, Kendu, Mango, and Jam are added to PDS and mid-day meals, consumers will get nutritious food.
— RINA BEHERA · Sundargarh, Odisha
Mahua is one of the most nutritious food items, which is very beneficial for our health. Along with this, coarse grains (millets) are also beneficial for health. They should be included. PDS.
— संगीता मीणा · Metali, Dungarpur, Rajasthan
It would be good to provide nutritious food like finger millet in meals.
— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha
Request to the government: It would be good if food prepared from ragi/millet is provided in PDS midday meals.
— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha
If the government pays attention to nutritious food, it should focus on pulses, sesame, urad dal, and similar items, so that proper nutrition can be obtained.
— Ranu begam · Pamgarh, Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh
It is necessary to provide forest-based food in the PDAS midday meal.
— Sarat suna
The voices in this theme were gathered by these organisations through their community reports.