Food for thought

BANGALORE: The State government seems to care little about the Supreme Court order on the specification of the food though there are numerous complaints about the quality of food served to children in Anganwadi centres in the State.The members of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights said they have noticed parents’ complaints against the quality and quantity of food served in Anganwadis across the State. “Parents have complained that food prepared  does not taste good. Often worms and fungus are found in the food. In some cases, the children who consumed food served at Anganwadis took ill and were admitted to hospitals for treatment. Not just this, even spoilt food is served to children. All these things are affecting the parents and they are reluctant to send their wards to Anganwadis,” they added According to the members of the Karnataka State Association of Anganwadi Workers, no one likes to eat this food and it is being dumped in waste bins or animals feed on it. “In 2010, the food was changed and ready-to-eat food was introduced. It is not acceptable to children. We also proposed for ISCKON food  for children,” said R Kasturi, Principal Secretary of the Association. A number child rights organisations have staged demonstrations and protests against the government’s inaction in this regard both in the city and across the State. But they have not yielded any results so far.Case filed with Lokayukta A complaint has also been registered with Lokayukta about unhealthy food which made children fall ill and the investigation is on. “Several children have taken ill and have been hospitalised after consuming the packaged food. We want the government to cancel the contract given to a company and engage local women’s groups to cook the hot meal for the children,” Matthews Philip, Executive Director of SICHREM. He also maintained that, after the talks with minister for women and child welfare, the food was changed in a few Anganwadis. However, children at most of the Anganwadis are still deprived of  nutritious meals.He alleged that the State government has also violated Supreme Court’s order which specifies that children in Anganwadis must receive locally made, hot food and not packaged food as part of their mid-day meals.What the Supreme Court order says Supreme court, in its order in 2004, stated that contractors shall not be used for the supply of food to the Anganwadis and preferable ICDS funds shall be spent by making use of local women groups and Mahila Mandals. Village communities should be encouraged to supply the supplementary food for distribution in Anganwadis.Poor ‘state’ of child health According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS) findings, every second child under five years of age in Karnataka is malnourished and over 70% children aged below six, are anaemic, contributing to high infant mortality rate.