Chaibasa/Jamshedpur/Ranchi, September 16, 2022: In furtherance to the vision of Tata Steel Foundation to create an equitable society, and to abate malnutrition at a state level, a Centralized Kitchen under the Mid-Day meal scheme was inaugurated at Chaibasa, West Singhbhum district today. The programme was jointly hosted by Tata Steel Foundation, Government of Jharkhand and Annamrita Foundation and dedicated to the young population of the district – the school going children of government education institutions.
The kitchen inaugurated by Smt. Joba Majhi, Minister of Women, Child Development and Social Security, Government of Jharkhand in the presence of Shri Deepak Birua, MLA Chaibasa and Smt. Geeta Koda, Member of Parliament, Singhbhum, Shri Ananya Mittal, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, West Singhbhum, Ms. Kiran Kumari Pasi IAS, Director, PM Poshan Yojona, Ashutosh Shekhar, IPS, Superintendent of Police, West Singhbhum, Mr Sourav Roy, Chief Executive Officer, Tata Steel Foundation, and senior government officials, citizens of the region, political fraternity, officials of Tata Steel and Tata Steel Foundation.
Developed in collaboration with Government of Jharkhand and Annamrita Foundation, the centralized kitchen aims to serve mid-day meals to over 63,000 students, across 523 schools and eight blocks of the West Singhbhum district.
Addressing the gathering Smt Joba Majhi said: “It is my hope that this kitchen and the nutritious food prepared here benefits the health of the children from West Singhbhum. I am thankful to Annamrita Foundation and Tata Steel Foundation for their interventions in our district.”
Addressing the gathering, Mr Sourav Roy said: “There are very few states across the nation that not only have a series of developmental needs but also immense potential to work towards a developmental solution. The kitchen can slowly help us formulate a model of development that can be replicated across the nation in areas reeling with similar development issues”.
The project takes its inspiration from its counterpart in East Singhbhum where the initiative has seen tremendous success and is presently serving meals to nearly 52,000 students across 428 schools, on a daily basis. Mr Sanjay Tikku, Vice Chairman, Annamrita Foundation, said: “Resolving malnutrition as a social issue is a slow burn, however we believe in the outcome and impact of our program. We are committed to continually providing school children with the most nutritious meals possible.”
The Kitchen, with the schools it will cater, is marquee development initiative on the Jamshedpur-Kalinganagar corridor. The overall cost for setting up the kitchen will be over Rs 10 Cr. upon completion. While the land, to the tune of 1.8 acres has been provided by the Government of Jharkhand, Tata Steel Foundation will take charge of setting up the infrastructure. Annamitra will thereafter look into the everyday operations of the Kitchen, which is set to begin 13 months from the present day.
