The Government of India is implementing a midday meal programme for children with the objective of alleviating malnutrition and attracting more children to schools.

Most of the villages in Idukki are situated in remote villages and the children are generally undernourished and the prevalence of vitamin A &C, protein deficiency and low weight of the children has been noticed.

Though traditional nutritious recipes are well known among the elders, they are not included in the midday meals programme of the district. Students coming from different cultural backgrounds have their own preferences and a lack of interest among the children due to repetition of food items and taste has been noticed.

This project has been undertaken with the support of the DST to revive and include culture specific, nutritive rich, traditional food items in children's midday meals. Nutrient rich indigenous recipes were identified, studied and recommended for the midday meals programme.