“Free school meals kill Indian children,” one headline screamed. Another commentator even went so far as to claim that there is “little evidence to suggest that schoolchildren are actually getting any nutritional value from it at all.”
反应不难预测——对政府服务（特别在农村地区）效率低下、糟糕的国家卫生标准以及28个邦政府对印度最重要的全国计划的实施不力的口诛笔伐。午餐制度本身因为浪费和不利于生产而被印度和外国放弃。《免费学校餐杀害印度儿童》一则新闻标题如是说。另一位评论家更加夸张，他甚至声称“几无证据表明学生真能从学校餐中获得任何营养价值。”