Morning Nutrition in collaboration with Amazon Web Services to 5000 children in Ranga Reddy district, Telangana – 6th Dec 2022
Annapoorna Trust collaborates with Amazon Web Services to provide Morning Nutrition to 5000 government school-going children in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana state.
On 6th December 2022, the Annapoorna Morning Nutrition programme was launched at Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) campus at Meerkhanpet in Ranga Reddy district. The government school-going children hailing from Shabad, Yacharam, and Kandukur Mandals will receive Morning Nutrition. The chief guest, Smt. Sabitha Indra Reddy – Minister for Education, Telangana along with representatives from Amazon Web Services were present at the event. From Annapoorna Trust, Mr. Anand K Kadali – Executive Secretary and Trustee, Dhananjay Rao Ejapu – Telangana coordinator and Mr. Srikanth Vooturi – Jagtial District Coordinator, were present.
The collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) will benefit 5000 children with Morning Nutrition in Ranga Reddy district. The children will be given Ragi Cereals Health Drink along with peanut chikki (a traditional Indian sweet generally made from nuts and jaggery) for all 6 days. Different varieties like peanut chikki, peanut-millet chikki, and peanut-millet-sesame seeds (til) chikki will be provided every day. AWS has been involved in improving the infrastructure and upgradation of school facilities of the ZPHS campus at Meerkhanpet, to provide a positive environment for their physical and mental well-being.
Sabita Indra Reddy – Education Minister of Telangana state spoke as, “Today I want to tell the children importance of Nutritious food. They need to be habituated to nutritious food instead of junk ones. Ragi Cereals Health Drink will give energy. Previously people used to eat only Rice. Nowadays people & children are getting to know the importance of millets & energy rich foods. Am very happy Annapoorna Trust have included Ragi cereal health mix as part of Morning nutrition in Government schools.”
Chris Vonderhaar, Vice President of Data Center Planning, Delivery, and Operations at Amazon Data Services, Inc. who was present at the event said, “The Meerkhanpet Zila Parishad High School renovation, breakfast program, and the AWS Think Big Space represent our larger commitment to the community in Telangana. Over the last three years, AWS has renovated several pre-primary and primary schools, and hospitals and constructed rural libraries. AWS hopes that these initiatives will benefit the community and help keep children fully engaged in the world of learning.”
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. By serving a balanced and filling breakfast, Annapoorna Trust seeks to meet the nutrition gap in children from rural India and disadvantaged sections of society. As research has shown, this Morning Nutrition program has shown a lasting effect on the health of children and aids in their physical and mental well-being, academic achievement, and cognitive development.
From September 2022, the Trust started introducing “SaiSure – Raagi Variant” (Finger Millet) in many government schools which has been rapidly expanding in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Each child will receive 150 ml of hot delicious and nutritious “Ragi Malt” drink, prepared by adding 10 grams of Ragi and 5 grams of Jaggery to 150 ml of hot water.
The simple and humble finger millet is a superfood that offers a bounty of nutritional benefits encompassing all the essential macronutrients, along with a noteworthy level of key micronutrients. The cooks need to just mix this Ragi Cereals health mix in the boiling water along with jaggery to give the sweet taste. Easy to prepare and tasty to drink, this health mix has received positive feedback from teachers, cooks, and children. It is considered one of the best foods for growing children.
