Read what teachers, government officials and the community have to say about our midday meal programme.

Testimonials from the

It is always a pleasure to revisit the kitchen to see the wonderful work. Congratulations! And let this be replicated all over the country.

- Sumit Bose, Principal Secretary, Finance, Government of Madhya Pradesh

Naandi has made me achieve one of my life’s goals – feeding underprivileged children.

- Narahari, Municipal Secretary, Indore

I really liked the midday meal kitchen run by Naandi. We are doing a similar programme in Rajasthan with the help of Naandi. We have started kitchen s in Udaipur, Bhilwara and Jaipur. I pray for the success of this organisation. May they progress in future. My good wishes are with them.

- Dr Ramesh Parekh, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Rajasthan

Ever since Naandi started delivering midday meals the number of children attending the Madarasa has significantly increased. The food is nutritious and hygienic. Parents are also happy as their children not only get a fruit but the menu keeps changing too.

Khusnoor Bano, Teacher, Madarasa, Farooque Azam Nagar, Udaipur, Rajasthan (December 2006)

Our school strength has increased because of the daily noon meals. Parents too are showing a lot of interest in keeping their children in school. That there is a good menu everyday and the food is tasty also makes the children look forward to the meal.

Sunil Kumar, Headmaster, Government Primary School, Indira Nagar, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (December 2006)

We organised a visit for the children to the midday meal kitchen. They saw every step involved in preparing the meal for them. When I asked them id they were satisfied with the kitchen they said that they loved the food and would not eat from anywhere else as it is very tasty.

Sneh Lata Jain, Headmistress, Governmetn Primary School, Indore, Madhya Pradesh (December 2006)

The midday meal has lifted a big burden off families. Mothers of most children here work and maids, and with the midday meal being served at school they are saved from having to run home in the afternoon. Earlier, children would go home for lunch and if the mother got delayed, which was usually the case; the child would not only stay hungry but also miss school. With the noon meal, afternoon absenteeism has reduced a great deal.

B Sivaparvathi, School in-charge, Governetmn Boys Upper Primary School, Lalaguda, Hyderabad (December 2006)

We have never come across a kitchen like this inspite of traveling quite a bit. The ability to manage scale with quality needs more than skill, it needs he spirit of service and good faith. You seem to have that.

The kitchen must be a great source of pride for you. It needs no certification apart from the children looking forward to your meals everyday. We tasted the rice and curry and without doubt say it tastes better than what we have eaten in many restaurants.

- Raghunath D Medge and G L Talekar, President and Secretary, Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Boc Supply charity Trust.

The centralised kitchen of Naandi at Udaipur has significantly helped in checking pilferage and ensuring continuity in the distribution of the midday meals. It has also reduced the workload on teachers and ahs made a large number of classrooms free from being used for cooking the noon meal. With more such kitchens coming up in the district, implementation of the midday meal programme will reach new heights and is likely to become a model for others to follow.

- Shishar Agrawal, IAS, Collector and District Magistrate, Udaipur, Rajasthan

Hindustan Zinc has long felt a profound commitment to the development of Rajasthan. Nothing can be more imperative that to nurture the future of the state and as such we are committed to Rajasthan’s midday meal scheme for young children in schools. To realise our vision of our corporate social responsibility initiatives, Hindustan Zinc looked for an equally committed social service partner, we found it in Naandi Foundation. Together we will serve the state by providing midday meals to about 2,00,000 children and by setting up several central kitchens.

- MS Mehta, CEO, Hindustan Zinc Limited, India (HZL has contributed te capital expenditure for kitchens in Rajasthan) (December 2006)