Many schools in Mumbai, particularly in south Mumbai, have barred dabbawallahs from delivering tiffin to students. They see the tiffin carriers as a security threat and the parents fear that their child's diet may be "contaminated" by sharing a tiffin that does not suit their religious ideology or taste.

According to the Times of India, Raghunath Medge of Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers, the main union of tiffin carriers, stated, "Approximately 50% of all schools across the city, mainly convents, have stopped dabbawallahs' entry. At one time, we were supplying one lakh tiffin to schools. That number has now dropped to 20,000." While the supply has been dropping over a period of three years, consignments have drastically fallen low this summer, causing resentment among the dabbawallah community and prompting Subhash Talekar of the Mumbai Dabbawallahs' Association to issue a press note.