A dimension within Nourishing Futures
Exploring the role of Mahua and other nutritious foods in school meal programs to ensure food security for children.
150 voices speak to this
Positive
Overall Community Sentiment
It would be good if food made from Mahua (Mahula) was given in our schools.
— Anjana Khadia · 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
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
In ancient times, people used to boil and eat Mahua. Mahua has many vitamins and is nutritious food. It would be good if it was given in schools.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Karamdihi, 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
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
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 appropriate if forest products like Mahua ladoo are prepared and served as part of the Mid-Day Meal in schools.
— Priti majhi
Mahua fruit/extract contains vitamins. It would be beneficial if given to school children to eat and if one also consumes it.
— Laxmi Bagh · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
It would be beneficial to give food items made from Mahua to pregnant women, children, and school children.
— Laxmi Bagh · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
It would be good if the government provides forest foods like Mahua, Chhar, and Kendu as food in the MDM (Mid-Day Meal scheme).
— Priti majhi
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
Mahua is found in the forest, it is a very vitamin-rich food, it would be good to give this to children.
— Laxmi Bagh · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
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 give things made from Mahua to pregnant women and school children.
— Laxmi Bagh · Subdega, Sundargarh, Odisha
Sir/Madam, if the food 'Charal' made from Mahua found in our forests is included in the school's midday meal for the children.
— Anjana Khadia · Sundargarh, Odisha
If food made from mahua found in our forests and food from charla are included in the school's midday meal for children.
— Anjana Khadia · 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
It would be good if forest products like Mahula, Char, and Kendu were provided in mid-day meals through PDS.
— Priti majhi
It would be good if nutritious food is given to school children in their mid-day meal.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Adaba, Gajapati, Odisha
If forest products, mahua mahua tea ladoo, are made during midday meals and given as MDM in schools.
— Priti majhi
It would be good if the government provides forest foods like honey, Chaar, and Kendu as food in the midday meal.
— Priti majhi
It would be good if traditional food was given to school children.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Mohana, Gajapati, Odisha
It would be good if forest products like Mahul, Char, and Kendu are provided through the PDS system for mid-day meals.
— Priti majhi
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
Request to the government: It would be good if forest products like Mahua, Char, Kendu, and Kaku were made into ladoos and provided in the BDS mid-day meal.
— Priti majhi
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
It would be good if local food is given to children in schools.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Mohana, Gajapati, Odisha
If we talk about the most nutritious food, if the government provides our forest products like Mahul, Char, and Kendu as food in MDM (Mid-Day Meal), then children will eat it and become intelligent.
— Priti majhi
If the government provides forest food like honey and some other forest produce as part of the midday meal, it would be good.
— Priti majhi
If Mahua is added to our food, it will provide vitamins.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Sundargarh, Odisha
It would be good to provide millet-based food to school children for lunch.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Adaba, Gajapati, Odisha
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
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
It would be good if local food were given to children in our school.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Gajapati, Odisha
Mahua has vitamins. People used to eat it boiled before, and it would be good to eat it boiled now.
— Gitanjali Bhoi · Sundargarh, Odisha
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 good if foods like ragi, millet, and Sua are given to school children in the mid-day meal two days a week.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK
It would be good to give traditional food to our school children.
— SUSANTA PATTNAYAK · Mohana, Gajapati, Odisha
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.
