In order to improve enrolment, retention and reduce drop out rate of students in primary classes and also to improve the nutritional status of primary students, Govt. of India, launched a countrywide scheme, 'NATIONAL PROGRAMME OF NUTRITIONAL SUPPORT TO PRIMARY EDUCATION (MID- DAY- MEAL SCHEME)' on 2-10-1995 (effective from 15-8-1995). Under this Scheme, students of primary classes were to be provided wheat @ 3 K.G. per student per month (for 10 months in a year) subject to 80% attendance and later on the states were to switch over to cooked meal scheme within two years but like many other states, Punjab did not switch over to cooked meal scheme interalia due to paucity of funds involved in the conversion of food grains to cooked meal. However, cooked Mid Day Meal was provided to children of Primary classes in one block in every district of Punjab during the year 2002-03 and the cost of meal was Rs.3.80 per child per day.

The govt. of Punjab started providing cooked meal to all the students of primary classes in govt. schools from September 2004 for this purpose a sum of Rs.666.00 lakhs during the financial year 2004-05 were released to the Deputy Commissioners, who are also the chairman of the committee for implementation of this scheme at district level. During the financial year 2005-06 a sum of Rs.1309.86 lakhs has been released to the Deputy Commissioners as conversion cost for providing cooked meal under the scheme. During the financial year 2006-07, a sum of Rs. 6793.57 lakhs has been sanctioned out of which a sum of Rs. 4100 lakhs has been released to the Deputy Commissioners of the state as conversion cost for providing mid day meal, a sum of Rs. 217.37 lakhs has been sanctioned for kitchen devices and gas connections, a sum of 1150.20 lakhs has been released for kitchen shed-cum-store and a sum of Rs. 96.59 lacs has been sanctioned for Management, Monitoring and Evaluation (MME).