Unhealthy food in schools worry parents

Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 24  

Many private schools in the urban sectors of Nagaland offer lunch to its students. This is no doubt a relief to many parents who have to go through the rush of packing tiffin for their children every morning. Also, some children eat better in the company of their peers and friends.  

But there is rising concern among many parents that their children are not being provided the right kind of food in schools and the impact it is having on their health.  

Chinese noodles, precooked noodles like maggie, fried rice, potato cutlets with ketchup and other processed food are part of the menu in many schools. In some schools, “bread with jam” with a glass of juice is given as “lunch” to kids.   Such unhealthy processed and high fat food on a daily basis is a cause of worry for parents who say it is not the wholesome, nutritionally adequate meal for children. School canteens also do not serve as a healthier option as most sell only fast food and junk food.  

“I assumed that my child was eating rice and pulses in school but later found out that they ate noodles and fried rice on a daily basis,” stated one mother. She found out only after her daughter frequently started complaining of stomach aches and the doctor diagnose her with gastritis. “I don’t expect the school to provide wholesome food everyday but I didn’t pay for Maggie either,” she remarked.

Awapangla, a mother of two, says that she started packing homemade food for her sons after the school offered a choice to eat in school or bring tiffin. “My sons were fed up with the oily and spicy food so they switched to home packed tiffin,” she says. It is learnt that the elementary school, where her sons study, has now completely stopped providing lunch due to complaints from most parents.  

High- fat and high-sodium is a typical lunch menu for most elementary schools and children of that age- group not being able to make food choices is a matter of big concern for mothers like her. And with gastritis and obesity becoming quite a common problem among children these days, many parents are of the opinion that schools that provide lunch should have healthier food options.  

Although a lot of schools that provide lunch claim to follow the “food pyramid,” none actually follow that standard. The schools should have nutritionists or food health experts to supervise what children should be eating and simply providing food that suit the palate. Plus, unlike in some Indian states where Child Protection groups issue directives/ guidelines to schools on food safety issues, there is no such mechanism in Nagaland.