Anganwadi is the government’s initiative regarding rural childcare services in India. It is organized under ICDS program 1975, which provides various services, both nutritional and general, to support children aged less than six years, pregnant ladies, and lactating mothers. Anganwadi also focuses on delivering enough nutrition required to grow up during childhood, necessary for further overall development.
Despite these efforts, there are often discussions about the quality and variety of food offered. A recent viral video from Kerala has reignited this conversation.
A video of a child asking in the anganwadi of Kerala to have biryani and chicken fry instead of upma may force some changes in the menu list at such childcare centers. State Minister for Health, Women, and Child Welfare, Veena George, posted the video of a child named Shanku making such a request on her Facebook page and declared that the menu at that anganwadi would be changed.
She added that it is an innocent demand from the child and will be considered. Warm regards to Shanku, his mother, and the anganwadi staff, the minister said.
“The menu will be reviewed, taking Shanku’s suggestion into account.” George explained that various types of food are provided through anganwadis to ensure nutritional meals for children. “Under this government, a scheme to provide eggs and milk through anganwadis has been successfully implemented. In coordination with the Department of Women and Child Development, local bodies provide a variety of foods in anganwadis,” Ms. George added.
In the viral video, the child, wearing a cap, was heard innocently asking his mother, “I need ‘birnani’ (biryani) and ‘poricha kozhi’ (chicken fry) in the anganwadi instead of upma.” His mother said she filmed the video while he was eating biryani at home and posted it on Instagram, where it became viral.
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“After seeing the video, we received calls from some people who offered biryani and chicken fry to Shanku,” she told a news channel. Netizens also backed the child’s plea, with some suggesting that the government cut the food served to convicts in jails and offer more sumptuous food to the children through anganwadis.
Anganwadis play an important role in the early development of children, and such updates to the menu could lead to better tackling of meals provided, ensuring that children are more likely to consume their food and receive the necessary nutrients.
Though the aims of anganwadis are mainly nutritional meals, incorporation of varied, tasty food articles such as biryani and chicken fry may enrich the children’s experience and satisfactions. This change may prove a model for other states also to achieve this balance between nutrition and taste in a meal prepared at anganwadi centers.
