Govtfunded school meals suffer cutbacks amid rising food prices
Teachers, families report inadequate budgets affecting meal quality
High food inflation impacts nutrition for impoverished children

ODISHA, India, Oct 11 Reuters Nearly two years of elevated food inflation in India is leaving less in the lunch boxes of impoverished children, as government funded school meals suffer cutbacks because of rising prices of vegetables, fruits and pulses.

The threedecades old programme, intended to draw poor children into school and provide them with basic nutrition, throws into sharp relief the inflationary impact of food on the nation39;s most needy and the widening inequality in the world39;s fastest growing major economy.

Reuters interviews with 21 school teachers across four states, a dozen families and researchers show schools have been forced to scrimp on key ingredients as the meal budget under the scheme has not increased for the last two years despite soaring food prices.

The programme covers an estimated 120 million children across a million government and governmentaided schools up to class 8, data available on the scheme39;s website showed. Teachers and school administrators manage the quality of food provided.

Budget for the midday meal scheme is not indexed to inflation regularly as it should be, compromising the quality of the meal, said Dipa Sinha, an independent development economist and researcher who works with the 39;Right For Food39; campaign, an…