Schools have started reopening after a long pause resulted from the pandemic. Various precautionary measures are taken by schools and institutions to ensure the safety of children and teaching staff. A few of them are anxious, while the rest of them have been relieved to be back to a place that was so close to their hearts.
The Education Ministry has laid down a few guidelines for schools to re-open:
• Wearing masks is compulsory for all the students, teachers and staff.
• Strict hand hygiene routines should be followed.
• Children will sit six feet apart from each other.
• Sharing of books, toys and food will be prohibited.
After almost half a year, children are happy to be back to schools, meet their friends and teachers, clear doubts while they are physically present in school and to eat their mid-day meals again.
Resuming service of the Mid-Day Meal Programme
The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO in India has resumed serving nutritious mid-day meals to children who are back to Government and Government-aided schools after the pandemic. Hygiene and safety are given primary importance while preparing these meals. The kitchens and vessels are sterilised and sanitised while employees sanitise their hands and wear safety gear like gloves, masks, kitchen boots and headgears.
Food and quality checks are conducted at every stage of the preparation of meals. Mandatory routines are followed by each member of the kitchen staff. Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) are implemented in all the kitchens of the organisation. All cutting boards, knives, rice cauldrons, trolleys, rice chutes, dal/sambar tanks, and other instruments are sanitised before usage every single day. Temperature checks are carried out at each stage to ensure that children receive hot food.
Once these meals reach the schools, children thoroughly wash their hands while following social distance norms. Clean plates are distributed to ensure that children comfortably enjoy their food. Currently, the Foundation has begun serving school meals to mid-day meal beneficiaries in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. Locally palatable meals are served in Kandi, Narsingi, Nawabpet, Kuppam, Gorakhpur, Guwahati, Kakinada, Nellore, Lucknow, Vrindavan, Vizag, Mangalagiri, Srikakulam, Gudivada, Ghambiram and Vijayawada.
You can donate online to support Akshaya Patra in feeding mid-day meal beneficiaries. Your tax exemption donations ensure that children get hot, nutritious and hygienically prepared food. After the pandemic, children look forward to gaining their source of nutrition that they had access to earlier.
Your online donations can feed children for one full year at Rs.1100.
