“Hunger isn’t About Lack of Food. The Earth produces enough food for Every man, woman, and child on the planet.”
It’s just that this food never makes it to the lower strata of the society. Nutrition is a strange term for people who struggle to acquire two meals a day and are used to sleeping on empty stomachs.
The first National Family Health Survey conducted in 1992 found that India was one of the worst performing countries with regards to child health indicators. Food is a basic human right but millions of impoverished children are deprived of it. The pandemic has exacerbated this condition further. It was reported that more than half the children under 4 were underweight and stunted. 1 in every 6 children was wasted (excessively thin). These conditions pertain to the prevalence of chronic malnutrition in children.
“Malnutrition kills 3000 children every day in India.”
Heart-rendering, but True.Children die of numerous diseases that are linked to malnutrition. The ones who are able to survive are suffer from poor overall development and other disabilities. According to the Indian Child Well-being Report 2020, nearly 115 million children are facing the threat of malnutrition due to the ongoing pandemic.
The Nutri Meals Project
It is the responsibility of each one of us to ensure that no child is deprived of basic necessities like food. Fight against malnutrition in underprivileged and rag-picker children is our primary motive.
“Over 7 Lakh children under age 5 die due to starvation every year in India.”
Food often reaches these children’s plates, but it lacks the required nutrients. The deficiency of essential nutrients like proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals in their diet hinders their physical and mental development. This often leads to deficiency diseases curbing their growth at an early stage in life.
We are running a program named ‘Nutri Meals’ that focuses on curbing malnutrition in rag-picker and impoverished children by fulfilling their nutritional needs. Our carefully prepared diet plan includes all nutrients necessary for proper growth. We have pledged to ensure at least one nutritious meal a day for these children and are currently feeding 75 plus malnourished children on a daily basis. It is our constant endeavour to take this number up by a little every other day.
Our Meal Includes foods with high nutritious value:
- Grams and Chickpeas
- Pulses and Lentils
- Soya and Soya chunks
- Rice
- Eggs
- Fruits
- Curd
- Peanut Butter
- Jam
- Green and Seasonal Vegetables
- Dalia
- Veg Pulav
- Cheese
- Sweets and Other Delicacies on Special Occasions
These have been arranged into a “Daily Meal Chart” with the menus kept in rotation to maintain the appetite of kids. Futhermore, we constantly try to keep the children excited about the meals by surprising them with a unique delicacy every now and then.
The meal needs to be tasty enough to make its way to these children’s bellies. Thus, we try our best to ensure that the food is nutritious and appetizing at the same time. Establishing a ‘Food Bank’ that would provide nutritious food to everybody at meagre prices is another of our objectives.
