NUTRIFEST is an annual food festival cum competition organised by MNC. This year it was held on March 29, 2011; it was a day with a difference for parents, children and staff of the Madhuram Narayanan Centre. They had all gathered in the MNC Prayer Hall to be a part of the event marked by colour and gaiety, with a colourful array of dishes, vying with each other for taste and display. This is an event specially designed to focus on the importance of nutritional interventions in caring for children with mental retardation.

Healthy Food, Healthy Kids

Children with developmental delays and mental retardation also usually suffer from nutritional deficiencies and associated health problems. In addition, poor socio-economic status and lack of awareness affect their growth and development, and negate the benefits of the Early Intervention programmes.

This festival, as the name suggests, is an event organised every year to create awareness on the importance of nutritious diet for these children, and provide health and nutrition education for the parents. It is specifically designed to highlight the importance of:

• Early nutritional interventions in children with mental retardation, to promote good health and minimise or eliminate serious setbacks due to developmental delays
• The nutritive value of our time-tested staple diet
• Using locally available and easily affordable foods
• Nutritive value of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet

The theme of this year’s fest was “A Day’s Complete Food”, i.e. meals suitable for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The participants—parents of children attending the Centre—were divided into groups based on the age of their wards—six months to two years, two to four years and four to six years.

Three eminent persons from different fields were invited to judge the competition—Mr.Mohanakrishnan, Executive Chef, Savera Hotel, Chennai; Dr.Shareefa,Head of Department of Nutrition, SIET College for Women, Chennai; and Dr. Padmalochini, Paediatrician.

Each group presented their entries and displayed charts showing nutritive and calorific values of the items prepared. They were judged for innovation, presentation, taste, creativity and relevance to the target age group.

Parents of children four to six years bagged the first prize, but every parent was a winner, as their efforts were rewarded with a lot of appreciation. It was also a learning process for them, as they picked up new ideas and methods of preparing common food items in attractive and healthy ways.

Some of the recipes will soon be available on our website.