For many school-going children, the daily egg will no longer be limited to being just boiled or fried. They can expect healthier and tastier egg-based meals. The One Child, One Egg initiative is cracking open new possibilities, with school cooks learning creative ways to turn a simple egg into meals children enjoy eating.
About a year after the launch of the One Child, One Egg initiative in schools nationwide, the Food and Agriculture Organization, in collaboration with relevant offices, is training school cooks to prepare a variety of egg-based recipes.
School cooks in Chhukha learned to create diverse, culturally appropriate and child-friendly dishes that enhance meal appeal while preserving nutritional value.
By expanding the menu, the initiative aims to prevent menu fatigue and improve children’s acceptance and enjoyment of school meals.
Passang Wangdi, Rinchenling Primary School’s cook said, “The training taught us five different ways to prepare egg dishes. It also taught us the roles and responsibilities of being a school cook and maintaining hygiene.”
Tshering Dema, Shemagangkha Primary School’s cook said, “From this three-day training, we could learn various ways to cook egg dishes. We were also trained on maintaining hygiene. Until now, we often prepared egg fried rice, but now we have many new ideas.”
Kinzang Loday, Deputy Chief Programme Officer of Department of Education Programmes said, “From Monday to Friday, we have to provide one egg per child each day. When eggs are given only in boiled form, there are instances where students lose interest. By preparing a variety of egg-based recipes, children will enjoy their meals and receive the nutrients they need.”
So far, 280 school cooks from schools across the country have been trained on egg recipe diversification, food safety, hygiene and nutrition-sensitive meal preparation.
Similar trainings were conducted in Wangdue Phodrang, Bumthang, and Trashigang.
About 32,000 students are expected to benefit from the training.
Education officials said this phase of the training targeted cooks from primary schools and Extended Classrooms. Plans are underway to train cooks from higher secondary schools if additional support is received from stakeholders.
For thousands of students, this means better-tasting meals, improved nutrition, and a healthier start to the school year.
Kinley Dem
