In the world, approximately 1 out of 9 people go to bed hungry. In India, there are a huge number of children who are not able to have their mid-day meals. Due to this, the children are not able to receive proper amounts of nutrition. That has resulted in malnutrition. There are 190 million individuals in India who go hungry on a daily basis, which is one-sixth of the total population of the country. One-sixth of the population of India is considered to be undernourished.
In India, children younger than five years old make up 30.7% of the population that is underweight. 58% of youngsters in India do not reach their full height and weight potential by the age of two.
In India, malnutrition affects one-quarter of the country’s youngsters. An excessive amount of malnutrition has resulted in widespread damage to a child’s growth, development, and well-being. Malnutrition can also alter cellular metabolism, impaired function, and sometimes loss of tissue. To fight malnutrition children must be given proper meals which carry ample amounts of nutrition. But this is difficult to achieve for children who come from a low-income background. Most of the time the children are underfed and sometimes the children have to work to earn money for the family.
To increase the supply of food to the children the government is trying hard by introducing new schemes and plans like the mid-day meal scheme. Apart from the government, there are some Non-Governmental Organisations also which are working for the common cause of providing food to unprivileged children. These helping hands have encouraged parents to send their children to school for study which has resulted in an increase in the levels of nutrition and education among children. But it should be a joint responsibility to fulfil this gap.
Here’s a list of things which one can do to fight world hunger-
Less food waste
Given that we have enough food to feed the world, the number of hungry people appears even more absurd. We would have if we didn’t squander so much food. Rich countries squander almost as much food as sub-Saharan Africa. If we stopped wasting food today, we could meet one-third of the world’s food supply. We may start at home as households squander roughly 570 million tonnes of food.
You can begin shopping. To avoid impulse buys and give crooked vegetables a chance, bring a shopping list. After finishing, properly keep your food at home. You can utilise innovative recipes to use up expired food. Learn ways to reduce food waste at home.
Consider meal sharing
It’s great to waste less food, but preserving it is better. The food-sharing community is the most common way to achieve this. “Food is shared instead of wasted [and] it tries to stop people from going hungry” is food sharing. Remember, one-third of worldwide food production is wasted, therefore food-sharing efforts ensure that no food is wasted and everyone can eat. Learn about food sharing and global efforts.
Eat regionally and seasonally.
Do you know where and how your grocery food was produced? Food is easy to buy, but production circumstances are typically hidden. Poverty and climate change often result from poor working conditions and long commutes. You can be sure that your lunch hasn’t gone halfway across the world, used a lot of resources, or contributed to global poverty if you buy local and in-season food. Checking a seasonal calendar helps reduce food waste by showing which crops are in season.
Look for Fair Trade items
Every now and again, we crave a banana, chocolate, or coffee. Fortunately, all of these products are manufactured fairly. By purchasing a Fair Trade product, you ensure that the people who produced your food are paid fairly, have acceptable working conditions, and are less likely to live in poverty and go hungry.
Here is a list of some NGOs contributing to the good cause-
1. Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation aims to keep children in school by providing nutritious food every school day. Their world’s largest (nonprofit) midday meal program serves over 1.6 million children in 12 Indian states. Their goal was to feed 5 million children by the year 2020.
2. ISKCON Food Relief Foundation’s program
The program of the ISKCON Food Relief Foundation strives to provide food to impoverished children in schools. Every day, IFRF helps nearly 120,000 children throughout eight states.
3. Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled
The Samarthanam Trust for the Handicapped seeks to give food and education to the country’s physically and mentally disabled children. Apart from the food they also provide accommodation to the differently abled. SLRC serves around 300 children in 13 villages across Uttar Pradesh.
4. Vishalakshi Foundation
The Vishalakshi Foundation, a big organisation with 10 centres across the country and over 3,000 volunteers, has done a wonderful job of bringing knowledge, wellness, health, and nutrition to hundreds of youngsters.
Other than these NGOs who work for the welfare of the children, there are some other NGOs also who work for the welfare of the overall human race by taking care of the food and supplies for the homeless and low-income families.
1. Rice ATM
The Vishalakshi Foundation, a big organization with 10 centres across the country and over 3,000 volunteers, has done a wonderful job of bringing knowledge, wellness, health, and nutrition to hundreds of youngsters. This was accomplished by Ramu, an HR professional who set aside 70% of his monthly pay and also utilized his Provident Fund reserves.
2. Humanity First
Humanity First has been feeding breakfast to families at government hospitals, orphanages, and railway stations for about 5 years. Because of the pandemic, they have also reached out to migrant workers and other disadvantaged families. Their goal is to expand operations to reach more people while also providing lunch and dinner.
3. Anna Patra India
Anna Patra’s India provides thousands of displaced families with free meals. They operate in Hapur and Ghaziabad districts. They provide food to hungry people at designated bus stops, hospitals, slums, and railway stations.
4. Hope Welfare Trust
A group of volunteer students established the trust. It works with families in Varanasi’s Kashi colony, where at least one member of each household suffers from leprosy. They also work in over 150 villages in eastern Uttar Pradesh to empower rural regions and women.
Now that we have told you a bit about the different NGOs which are working to help the common cause of providing nutrition-rich food to not only the underprivileged children but to the elder generation also, we encourage you to go have a look at their work in detail. Kindly donate in order to help these organisations efficiently move towards the completion of their vision.