Wardens of all hostels run by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) have to now post time-stamped photographs of the food being served to students at their hostels three times a day, on their account of the social media platform X. Stakeholders can provide feedback on the quality of the food as well.
To fix recurring complaints of food not being served regularly or bad quality of food being served at SWD hostels, the Department introduced the Food Transparency and Social Audit programme on a pilot basis in Bidar, Chamarajanagar and Raichur districts in November 2024. Later in January 2025, it was extended to Bengaluru Urban, Udupi, Mysuru, Bagalkote, Kolar, Belagavi and Tumakuru districts. Following good feedback for the initiative, the programme has now been extended to all hostels run by the Department across the state from February 6.
Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Minister for Social Welfare, said that the health of the children studying or staying in the Department’s hostels was the top priority. “We will ensure there is no compromise on the quality and safety of the food they receive,” he said, adding that the initiative aims to enhance public trust and provide real-time insights into student nutrition.
There are 1,979 pre-matric and post-matric hostels and 821 residential schools functioning under the SWD across the state with around 2,15,000 students.
After hostel wardens upload time-stamped photos, the Department officials will check the uploaded pictures for both quantity, quality and hygiene, suggest necessary changes if necessary and initiate action against those responsible if they find any shortcomings.
The Department has launched a 24X7 helpline for anyone to raise complaints over food issues. They have also published email id and phone numbers of officials to lodge complaints. Stakeholders can also provide feedback about the quality, hygiene of the meal on the basis of the pictures uploaded by the wardens and hostel staff.
These social media posts and the feedback is collated and the Department ranks districts based on their performance on this issue every week. According to the data published on February 14, Udupi ranks first, followed by Chamarajanagar, Mysuru and Raichur districts.
Published - February 16, 2025 10:09 pm IST
