2 weeks ago
Nagaland School Kids Grow Vegetables for Their Lunch Plates
At a small school in Nagaland, a state in India, children grow their own lunch.
The kids plant seeds, water garden beds, remove weeds and make manure from organic waste.
Their school has had a vegetable garden since 2011.
The vegetables they grow, like beans, cabbage and pumpkin, end up on their plates at lunchtime.
The students also learn about organic farming and how food is grown.
In India, government schools give children a hot meal every school day through a programme called PM POSHAN.
The programme is supposed to give younger children about 450 calories and older children about 700 calories per meal.
Some schools have been criticised after videos showed very poor food being served.
The Nagaland school shows that children can also learn where food comes from right beside their classroom.
About 60 students at K Khel Government Middle School in Viswema, Nagaland, grow vegetables that are served in their own mid-day meals.
The school's kitchen garden began in 2011 to teach children organic farming and practical agricultural skills.
Students in Classes 1 to 8 cultivate beans, cabbage, pumpkin, squash, pomegranate, lemons, maize, Naga dal, tubers and herbs.
India's PM POSHAN (Mid-Day Meal Scheme) requires 450 calories and 12 grams of protein per meal for Classes 1-5 and 700 calories and 20 grams for Classes 6-8.
The article contrasts the school with viral videos of poor-quality meals in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha that led to suspensions, a dismissal and an FIR.
- Who
- Students of Classes 1 to 8 at K Khel Government Middle School, under head teacher Keneisenu Vitsu
- What
- Students grow vegetables in an organic kitchen garden that supplies their PM POSHAN mid-day meals
- Where
- K Khel Government Middle School in Viswema, Kohima district, Nagaland, India
- When
- The garden began in 2011 and has run for more than a decade; the article cites reports published up to August 2026
- Why
- To teach children organic farming, practical agricultural skills and the dignity of labour, while providing nutritious school lunches
Concern about meal quality
Success of the kitchen garden model
State of India's school meal programme
Concern about meal quality
Viral videos from Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district and Odisha showing poor-quality meals underline the need for stronger monitoring; in Sitapur, the headmistress was suspended, the cook dismissed and an FIR registered.
Success of the kitchen garden model
The decade-long kitchen garden at K Khel Government Middle School shows that nutritious mid-day meals can be delivered when schools connect meals to food education and local cultivation.
Key facts
- School
- K Khel Government Middle School, Viswema
- Location
- Viswema, Kohima district, Nagaland, India
- Student count
- About 60 students, Classes 1 to 8
- Garden established
- 2011
- Crops grown
- Beans, cabbage, pumpkin, squash, pomegranate, lemons, tubers, herbs, maize, Naga dal, mustard
- Meal programme
- PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman), formerly Mid-Day Meal Scheme
- Nutrition standard (Classes 1-5)
- 450 calories, 12 g protein per meal
- Nutrition standard (Classes 6-8)
- 700 calories, 20 g protein per meal
Quotes
Head teacher Keneisenu Vitsu
Head teacher of K Khel Government Middle School
“"It all started in 2011. We decided to teach organic farming to the kids to inculcate in them the skill and knowledge of agriculture."”
thebetterindia.com
Sources
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