Mid-Day meal, US-style: An 11-year-old asks Barack Obama to ensure mangoes figure in school lunches. It is not just a cute issue. School lunches raise serious political economy questions in the US, particularly when the economy is in trouble. With record number of job losses and high unemployment, thousands of American children have been pushed into poverty (as defined in America) and more families have turned to food stamps. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), at least 18.5m (a 41-year record high figure) low-income children are expected to receive free or reduced-cost lunches through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

As per the recently released report ?The State of School Nutrition 2009?, nearly 60% of US districts have increased lunch prices this year to keep up with the cost of preparation. The results show that despite difficult times, schools have continued to provide kids with high-quality nutritious foods. This fall, as the Congress considers reauthorising the Child Nutrition Act, the School Nutrition Association (SNA) is advocating that school food service programmes receive an additional $0.35 for each reimbursable meal served. With an additional $1 billion for child nutrition programmes in the budget proposal, the USDA is expected to upgrade school food nutrition standards this year, many of which haven?t been changed for about 15 years. These include banning trans fats in cafeterias and re-equipping the kitchens so that healthier foods can actually be cooked.

What?s happening in India? The mid-day meal scheme (MDMS)?the largest school nutritional programme in the world?covers nearly 12 crore children. The hiccups in the scheme are quite evident and widespread, but there is no denying of the fact that it has helped in eliminating classroom hunger besides enhancing the enrolment rates, particularly for girls.

Qualitative improvements are urgently required if mid-day meals are to achieve their full potential. Learn from the US, the world?s wealthiest country. It is spending more on school lunches, even in a recession.

jaya.jumrani@expressindia.com