A dimension within Community Food Systems
This theme discusses the importance of healthy and local food options for school meals and child nutrition.
150 voices speak to this
Positive
Overall Community Sentiment
If ragi, millet, drumstick leaves, and jute leaves were included in the school midday meal, it would provide more nutritious food to children.
— Parsuram Sa · Sundargarh, Odisha
If the nutritious 'char laddoo' made from Mahua found in our forests is included in the school's mid-day meal, children will be nourished.
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
If forest-based foods like Mahua, Chironji, and Kendu were prepared and given to our school children in their Mid-Day Meal, it would be beneficial.
— Priti majhi
It would be good to provide millet-based food to school children for lunch.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Adaba, Gajapati, Odisha
Including food items like mahua ladoo made from mahua found in our forests in the school's midday meal can provide nutritious food to children.
— Anjana Khadia · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
It would be good if food prepared with Kendu, Amla, Char, and Mahul is given to school children.
— Laxmi Bagh · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
If food made from Mahua is given in schools, children will be able to get nutritious food.
— Anjana Khadia · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
It would be good if nutritious food is given to school children in their mid-day meal.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Adaba, Gajapati, Odisha
It would be good if foods like ragi, millet, and Sua are given to school children in the mid-day meal two days a week.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK
Including Mahula laddus made from Mahula found in our forests in school's midday meals can provide nutritious food to children.
— Anjana Khadia · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
It would be good to provide food like millet (ragi) and pulses to school children twice a week during their midday meal.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK
Including ladoos made from Mahua, a food found in our forests, in the school's mid-day meal will be nutritious for children.
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
It would be beneficial if forest fruits, roots, Char, Dumer, and Kuddu fruits are given to school children as part of the midday meals provided in schools. Whatever term applies.
— Parikshit Majhi · Balangir, Odisha
If leafy greens like Kuilesh saag, Mudi saag, and Munga saag are provided in the mid-day meal at school, students will be able to get some nutritious food.
— Parsuram Sa · Hemagiri, Sundargarh, Odisha
It would be good to give school children ragi and millet-based food two days a week in their midday meals.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Mohana, Gajapati, Odisha
In schools where midday meals are provided, if fodder from the forest is brought and made into laddus, nutritious food can be obtained.
— Parikshit Majhi
In our school, in the mid-day meal that is provided, if we bring a beneficial extract from our forest and add those seeds, I will prepare it so that it contains many vitamin-rich things, and eating that would be very good.
— Parikshit Majhi
It would be good to provide food to our children through mid-day meals at school.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Mohana, Gajapati, Odisha
It would be good to provide millets like Suan, Mandia, Kangu, Bargudi Badi to school children for three days a week in their midday meals.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK
If children are given food like Kangu, Jannasua in school, their health will be good.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Gajapati, Odisha
Millet is a nutritious and protein-rich food. We can provide millet to children in school midday meals because it is nutritious.
— Padmini Bhoi
Among forest products, Mahua is also a nutritious food. It would be good if the government utilizes this Mahua in various ways and provides it in school mid-day meals.
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
School children will have good health if nutritious food is provided in their midday meals.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Adaba, Gajapati, Odisha
It would be good if forest products like Mahua, Chaar, and Kendu were included in the preparation of our children's Mid-Day Meal.
— Priti majhi
Millet is an indigenous food. If we provide millet to children as a midday meal in schools, their physical and mental wellbeing will improve.
— Padmini Bhoi
It would be good to serve local food to school children for midday meals.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Adaba, Gajapati, Odisha
If children in our school are provided with foods like ragi and jowar in their lunch twice a week, their health will improve.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK
It would be good to provide traditional food to school children in their mid-day meal.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK
Children's health will improve if they are given local food for their midday meal in our school.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Adaba, Gajapati, Odisha
It would be good to provide nutritious food like finger millet in meals.
— PRADEEP KUMAR KANHAR · Boudh, Odisha
If local food is provided to school children in their mid-day meal, their health will be good.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Gajapati, Odisha
Forest produce fruits found in the forest like Kendu, Char, and Mahula contain abundant nutritious food. It would be good to include them in students' mid-day meals.
— Kumudini Chhanchan · Bhojpur, Sambalpur, Odisha
It would be good if food made from Mahua (Mahula) was given in our schools.
— Anjana Khadia · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
If school children are given foods like ragi, foxtail millet, pearl millet, and kodo millet three days a week, their health will be good.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Gajapati, Odisha
Students will be able to benefit if nutritious supplements are provided in the midday meal.
— Anangaprabha Bhoi · Bangomunda, Balangir, Odisha
If food like ragi, suva, and millet is given to school children for two days a week in their mid-day meal, their health will remain good.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK
Forest fruits like Kendu, Char, and Mahul, found in the forest, contain abundant nutritious food. It would be good to include them in the mid-day meals of students.
— DASHARATH SINGH · Jamunkira, Sambalpur, Odisha
It would be appropriate if forest products like Mahua ladoo are prepared and served as part of the Mid-Day Meal in schools.
— Priti majhi
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
It would be good to provide millet-based meals twice a week for lunch at school.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK
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.

By embracing our ancestral foods, language, and traditions, we can nourish our children and strengthen our community's identity 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.

We ensure our children's well-being and cultural continuity by teaching them about the forest's bounty and the richness of our ancestral language and traditions.