New Delhi: With 11 new kitchens to provide hot-cooked food to children and pregnant and lactating women, Delhi government said it has taken a step to address nutrition-related deficiencies and promote good eating habits for sustainable health.
Officials said these high-tech kitchens spread across Delhi deliver nearly eight lakh meals every day to children aged 3-6 years and women, comprising freshly cooked meals and take-home rations with high nutritional value.
Delhi currently has 10,897 anganwadi centres in 11 districts, with close to 7.78 lakh registered beneficiaries. These women and children are entitled to supplementary nutrition through the various government schemes, which are provided to them in the form of hot-cooked meals and dry rations.
“Women from various self-help groups begin working at 4am at these 11 community kitchens to ensure that all beneficiaries receive their meals on time,” said an official from the women and child development department.
“Our aim is to provide nutritious food to every child and mother, ensuring a strong foundation and proper physical and mental development during crucial years,” the official added.
According to the data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), around 30% of children in Delhi are malnourished. The NFHS-5 (2019-21) data shows that 38.4% of children are stunted, 35.5% suffer from wasting and 21% are underweight. Although malnutrition levels among children have reduced when compared to the NHFS-4 (2015-16) data, child rights activists and nutritionists suspect that the data collected after Covid may reveal an increase in malnutrition among children.
These modern kitchens were an effort to make up for nutrition setbacks that children may have suffered, especially during the lockdown, said an official. While attention is paid to the cleanliness and proper cooking of food, it is checked at various levels to ensure quality. The kitchens are divided into three sections — one for storing grains, a second with a fully automatic grain-cleaning and packaging machine for ‘take-home ration’ and the third for cooking.
An official said a different menu is followed every day to break the monotony and balance the nutritional value. Earlier, the options were limited to ‘Kichri’ and ‘Daliya’.
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