Shaka Basnyat, Senior Program Manager CORN
Date Published
Octorber 6, 2026
Estimated Reading Time
6 mins
The Nutrition Program's impact cannot be measured only by the number of meals served. Every plate of food represents a child whose hunger is being addressed. But behind every plate is also the work of locals whose livelihoods are connected to the program.
Through the stories of the school cooks at Shree Mahendra Secondary School, we see a less-visible impact: “Serving the locals and contributing to the local economy.” For these three women, this work has helped them reclaim independence, purpose, and standing in their own community. That's the part of the story that rarely makes it into a program report — the human stories behind the program.
It’s hot summer mid-morning at Shree Mahendra Secondary School in Kundur, Gorkha, and the kitchen is already filled with the loud clang of pots.
In a few hours, 526 students will line up here for lunch; some of them after walking an hour to get to school on an empty stomach. Standing over the pots are three dedicated women.
Smiling, they say the students sometimes come back for seconds and try to hide it, embarrassed to admit they’re still hungry. And of course, all three of them always find a way to give them more.
This is the quieter side of Calls Over Ridges Nepal’s Nutrition Program; a program built to serve marginalized and economically disadvantaged children studying at the public community school and supporting their initiatives to serve their community, so they don’t have to study on an empty stomach.
The determined children and their resilience against all odds have been one of the strong foundations of Calls Over Ridges Nepal’s values.
What began as an effort to address children’s nutritional needs has now entered its fifth year. Over time, the program has demonstrated an impact that goes beyond the plates of food served to students.
The Unheard Local Impact
But today, let’s look beyond the meals and explore the broader impact the Nutrition Program has created for the local community members serving on the frontline.
During a recent regular monitoring visit, the Calls Over Ridges Nepal team sat down with the school cooks of Shree Mahendra Secondary School to understand their daily routines, challenges, and experiences. What began as a conversation about meal preparation soon became a reflection on something deeper: what the program has meant to the women who make it possible every day.
The Didi (Older Sister in Nepali) to 526 students of the school started talking about what this job actually meant for them.
And what they described wasn’t just a paycheck; instead, it was something closer to healing.
Ask any of the three cooks whether the work ever burns them, feeding day after day, hundreds of children daily, and they answer almost in unison, “This is our way of healing, serving the children who travel to school hoping to get a hot meal and study with a healthy and full stomach.”
And being called Didi by students isn’t a transaction, but it’s a relationship.
Their response offers a different perspective on care work. Women are often expected to care for their families, prepare meals, and look after household needs without recognition.
At school, these women continue to perform a role rooted in care; here, their work is recognized as employment, their contribution is valued, and their skills provide them with an income and greater independence.
Bimala Tamang: Remembering What Wasn’t There
Ms. Bimala Tamang, who has been serving as an assistant cook for the past two years, shared that her connection to this issue goes back further than that.
When she was a student herself, no such program existed. Children either brought lunch from home or, in some cases, remained at school without eating. That memory shapes how she sees her work now. Today, she finds herself preparing the very meals that she once wished had been available to children like herself.
She believes the program is particularly meaningful for students whose families struggle to provide a varied meal at home. While some children may have limited access to nutritious food, the school provides them with a freshly prepared hot meal during the school day.
But for Bimala, one of the most important aspects of the program is its inclusiveness. All students and teachers, regardless of their background or circumstances, eat the same food prepared in the school kitchen. There is no distinction in the meal served.
For a woman who once attended a school without such an opportunity, being part of providing that experience to today’s children carries a meaning that goes beyond her job description.
Tara Aryal: From Dependence to Independence
Ms. Tara Aryal has been working as the head cook for the past five years. Over those five years, she has witnessed the daily realities of the students she serves. Sometimes, students quietly tell her that they want more food because they have arrived at school without eating and have walked for nearly an hour to reach school.
Those moments remind her why her work matters.
But the Nutrition Program has also changed something in her own life. Before becoming a school cook, Tara depended largely on her husband to meet her basic needs. Having a regular source of income has changed that.
Today, she can meet her own basic needs and contribute to her household without having to depend entirely on someone else. For her, employment has brought more than income.
It has brought confidence and given her a sense of self-reliance and independence.
The school kitchen where she prepares meals for hundreds of children has also become a place where she has strengthened her own ability to stand independently.
Pampha Kumal: Rebuilding and Reclaiming her Independence
Ms. Pampha Kumal, an assistant cook at the school, carries another story of resilience. As a single woman raising three children, meeting the basic needs of her family was not easy.
Financial uncertainty often meant that even accessing credit or a loan was difficult. She recalls that people were hesitant to trust her with a loan because they feared she might not be able to repay it.
Her circumstances made financial independence particularly important. Being associated with the Nutrition Program has provided her with an opportunity to earn a regular income and regain a sense of independence.
Her work has allowed her to contribute to the needs of her children and household while also rebuilding confidence in her own ability to support her family.
For Pampha, the significance of the job is therefore much bigger than the monthly income it provides. It represents an opportunity to stand on her own feet.
Beyond the Nutritious Plate
The Nutrition Program was primarily designed to address the educational needs of children studying in public community schools, ensuring that children from the most vulnerable and economically disadvantaged backgrounds do not miss out on their right to education due to hunger, financial hardship, or other barriers.
The recent conversation at Shree Mahendra Secondary School revealed a second, less-visible impact: “Serving the locals and contributing to the local economy.”
Three women who have used this work to reclaim independence, purpose, and standing in their own community. That’s the part of the story that rarely makes it into a program report.
Feeding 526 children a day also means paying, respecting, and investing in the women who make that possible, and for Bimala, Tara, and Pampha, that investment has meant rebuilding their lives on their own terms.
The Nutrition Program’s impact, in other words, doesn’t stop at the classroom door. It reaches into the school kitchen and from there, into the households and futures of the locals who run it. The program was designed to support children, but the people delivering that support are also experiencing change.
Today, in Gorkha District, among 34 school cooks, 25 are women who daily ensure the quality meal preparation of 5,481 students.
These women arrive at school each day carrying their own responsibilities, experiences, and challenges. Like many women in rural communities, their responsibilities do not end when they leave the workplace. Household chores, family responsibilities, and caregiving continue before and after their working hours.
Yet, despite the physical demands of preparing meals for hundreds of students, they describe their work with a sense of affection and pride. They say that when they enter the school gate, they enter with a smile. Perhaps that is because they see the children not simply as students, but as part of their extended community.
Their work allows them to care for others while also creating an opportunity to care for themselves through employment, income, independence, and a renewed sense of purpose.
The impact therefore moves beyond the school kitchen, highlighting the remarkable cross-cutting impact of the Nutrition Program. It supports children to remain healthy, motivated, and ready to learn. At the same time, it provides locals with dignified employment and an opportunity to strengthen their economic independence.
The approach of serving children while contributing to the local community and economy has created an impact that may not always be visible in program statistics. Because sometimes, the impact of a program is not only found in what it gives. It is also found in who it empowers along the way.
So, behind every hot meal served at schools are local people like Bimala, Tara, and Pampha who are not only feeding children; they are building their own stories of dignity, independence, and resilience.
about the author
Shaka Basnyat
Shaka is CORN’s Senior Program Manager
and is based in Kathmandu, Nepal
Our stories >> Nepal >> More than a Meal: How the Nutrition Program is Empowering Local People Behind the School Kitchen
