The Health Department, in collaboration with ISKCON, launched a five-meal-a-day programme on Tuesday for patients admitted to KC General Hospital, Sir CV Raman Hospital, and Jayanagar General Hospital. The initiative was inaugurated at Sir CV Raman Hospital, Indiranagar, by Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.

Nutrition and menu

The menu is planned by ISKCON along with the Health Department’s nutritionists to meet the dietary requirements of patients. The programme is tailored for:

  • Patients with renal issues
  • Pregnant women and lactating mothers
  • Children

The general diet plan includes about 70 grams of protein daily. Eggs are replaced with soya chunks. Typical meals include:

  • Breakfast: Rava upma, broken wheat porridge, or pongal
  • Mid-morning snack: Robusta banana (big banana)
  • Lunch: Ragi balls, rice, sambar, and soya chunks
  • Evening snack: Tea and biscuits
  • Dinner: Chapathi, rice, vegetable curry, vegetable sambar, and soya chunks

For renal patients, the protein intake is around 60 grams, robusta banana is replaced with buttermilk, and sprouts are included at breakfast.

For pregnant and lactating women, the plan provides additional nutrition to support milk production. They are served 200 ml milk with a banana as a mid-morning snack, chikki in the evening, and oranges at dinner.

The paediatric diet provides 40 grams of protein, with milk served twice daily—once in the morning with a banana and once in the evening with chikki or biscuits.

Implementation and future plans

The programme is initially set for one year with a budget of Rs 1.38 crore. Cooking is done at ISKCON’s central kitchen in Rajajinagar, and meals are served directly to patients by ISKCON staff.

Minister Rao noted:

“In schools, ISKCON provides ‘bisi oota’ (mid-day meals) and has extensive experience in meal management, which is why we collaborated with them. There were complaints against the previous service providers.”

The Health Department is considering extending the programme to all government hospitals in Bengaluru after a month and potentially launching similar initiatives in other districts with NGO support.