Bengal schools may rope in NGOs for kitchen gardens

Kolkata: Schools across Bengal may now engage non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and trusts to set up kitchen gardens, officially called School Nutrition Gardens (SNGs), under the Mid-Day Meal scheme, according to a recent advisory issued by the Project Director of the Cooked Mid-Day Meal Programme (CMDMP).

The advisory was issued after inspections revealed that in many schools, gardens were being cultivated in an unprofessional manner, failing to serve their intended purpose of supplying additional nutrition to mid-day meals.

Moreover, funds were often released without proper guidelines, and the directorate rarely received feedback on their utilisation or on the nutritional benefits achieved.