India, Nov. 5 -- A school meal often appears deceptively ordinary when one looks at it as a plate of food. Yet, when we look at it as a strategic intervention, its potential is far-reaching, making it one of the earliest and most consequential long-term investments a nation can make in its future.

For this impact to be far-reaching and sustained though, nutrition needs to be looked at holistically. When the objective is to build nutritional security for children who rely on the government school system for education and opportunity, the focus ought to be on the entire nutrition delivery ecosystem, right from sourcing of ingredients to the cooking, transportation and serving process.

This is where consistency comes into the picture. Qual...