Reimagining school meals through agrobiodiversity in Madhya Pradesh

What if school meals nourished children while supporting local livelihoods, empowering communities, and celebrating India’s rich agrobiodiversity?

In Madhya Pradesh, a new effort is exploring pathways to better link local livelihoods, community knowledge, and India’s diverse food heritage with school meal programs. While aiming to enhance nutrition for children, the effort also seeks to reintroduce neglected and underutilized crops into local farming and institutional food systems. Mobilizing Agrobiodiversity in India to Support Integrated Landscape Planning and Planet-Friendly School Meal Programs is not just about diversifying menus, it invites a rethinking of how food, agrobiodiversity, and public procurement can intersect to support more sustainable and contextually rooted food systems.