ISKCON Mid-Day Meals Accused Of ‘Imposing Religion’ In K’taka

Reports state that kids are refusing to eat the food due to lack of familiarity with the taste.

Students having their Mid-Day Meal in school

(Photo Courtesy: IndiaSpend)

The Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF) run by ISKCON which provides mid-day meals (MDM) to 2,814 schools and roughly 4.43 lakh children in Karnataka has come under criticism for refusing to use onion and garlic in their meals.

Activists in the state say that due to lack of familiarity with the taste of the food, the children in schools fed by the APF are refusing to eat their mid-days meals.

Activists Allege Imposition of Religious Belief By ISKCON

In a report published by The Hindu, activists associated with the Right to Food Campaign and the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan have criticised APF’s stance, and demanded that the State Government cancel the MDM contract with ISKCON on the grounds that it is trying to impose its religious beliefs on lakhs of children.

Earlier on 14 May nearly 10 organisations and 100 individuals had written to the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) asking it to withdraw its approval to the Akshay Patra Foundation for supplying mid-day meals without onion and garlic for religious reasons reported The Indian Express.

In February 2019, the NIN which was tasked by the Karnataka government to assess if the APF’s meals had the requisite amount of nutrition, gave its formal nod to their menu.

According to The Hindu report, activists circulated an open letter that questioned the NIN’s methodology to arrive at its decision. The letter primarily argued that the NIN did not measure or sample the food that is provided and more importantly, did not consider the testimony of the children that are eating this food.

The report also suggests that since the children don’t eat this food, a lot of it gets wasted.

Twitter Divided Over Allegations Against ISKCON

Reacting to the demands by the activists, some Twitterati came out in their support.

On the other hand others argued that as long as nutritional standards are being met, the lack of onion and garlic should not be a big deal.