After the success of phase I and II of trainings for cook-cum-helpers facilitated by The Akshaya Patra Foundation in collaboration with Ministry of education, the phase III commenced in March 2014. In this phase about 900 cooks are expected to be trained. In the phase I and II, the series of day-long workshops enabled training of more than 1,100 cook-cum-helpers from 8 states which included Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha.

In the phase III which commenced in March, 400 cook-cum-helpers from Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan underwent training. In the months of April and May, the team will conduct trainings in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

The training module has been modified for Phase III, incorporating the learning from Phase I and II, to enhance the learning experience for the participants. The training module has been designed to encourage participants to not only comprehend, but also imbibe the various hygiene and food safety practices in the course of their daily work. Akshaya Patra has also developed a special handbook and training materials which contain pictorial descriptions on food safety, quality and personal hygiene practices which are of utmost importance to the MDM cook-cum-helpers.

Appreciations

A Ch Marak, Director of School Education and Literacy, Meghalaya expressed his gratitude to the members of The Akshaya Patra Foundation for their commitment and sincerity for making the training plan a success and bringing hope for better implementation of the Mid-Day Meal Programme in the state up, to school level.