This session brings together school feeding experts from the non-profit sector (The Akshaya Patra Foundation), private sector (Tetra Pak India Pvt Limited) and the public private sector (Tata Trusts). This panel will deliberate over each sector’s roles and best practices in augmenting government guidelines for safe food provisioning during the pandemic and after schools reopen. Hear from Ms. Inoshi Sharma, Director, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, and Dr Shariqua Yunus, Nutrition Specialist, UN World Food Programme India, on the importance of food safety and hygiene in schools in the new normal.

Nearly 1.5 billion learners in more than 180 countries are affected by school closures from the COVID-19 outbreak. In particular, the most vulnerable households which rely on these daily meals for their children have felt the greatest impact on their food security and nutrition. In India, schools have been suspended since March 2020 to contain the spread of this highly communicable disease. With no clarity on the resumption of in-premises schooling, India’s Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme, which reaches more than 100 million schoolchildren, faces one of its toughest implementation phases since its launch. Our two- part webinar series aims to catalyze timely and relevant knowledge sharing during this critical period.