India happens to be among the highest grain-producing nations in the world. The World Economic Forum reports that India produces about 230 million tonnes of food annually. However, most Indians are hungry.
Moreover, statistics indicate that 14.5% of India’s population is undernourished. If that’s not bad enough, India has 47.5 million stunted children below five years of age.
The food situation in India is so bad that it leads to death, especially among children. In fact, most children go up to nine days without food. So, who is to blame for India’s lack of food for its citizens?
Food Wastage in India
With the country producing such large amounts of food, most of it goes to waste. Most of India’s food remains on the farms, leading to rotting. The main issue is a lack of transportation and storage. As a result, rats and insects end up eating the food.
The Indian government is working to resolve such issues in the following ways:
• Identification of new distribution strategies
• The use of technology to help with storage and pest management
• Improvement of cold chain facilities
The Need for Food Donations in India
Since the government is struggling to provide food for its citizens, many organizations have come up to help.
Since children are the most affected, organizations have come up with programs to feed school-going children. Such programs feed hungry kids and encourage them to go to school (formal and non-formal).
Millions of families cannot afford to put food on their tables. Moreover, kids need to drop out of school to help their parents source food.
To help stop children from dropping out, they are educated and fed through feeding programs in Indian schools.
However, it would be impossible if it weren’t for the many Indians and non-Indians giving food donations to these organizations.
Organizations go above and beyond to provide nutritious food for children. Therefore, parents can focus on working hard. They are certain their kids are well taken care of in school.
