Let me shock you with some facts, because I am:
14.5% of our population is undernourished
190.7 million people go hungry everyday
21.0% of children under 5 are underweight
38.4% of children under 5 years of age are stunted
1 in 4 children are malnourished
3,000 children in India die every day from poor diet related illness
24% of under-five deaths are recorded in India
30% of neo-natal deaths occur in India
India, with a population of over 1.3 billion, has seen tremendous growth in the past two decades. Gross Domestic Product has increased 4.5 times and per capita consumption has increased 3 times. Similarly, food grain production has increased almost 2 times. However, despite phenomenal industrial and economic growth, and while India produces sufficient food to feed its population, it is unable to provide access to food to a large number of people, especially women and children.
On the occasion of the launch of Tasting India: Farm to Table Symposium at Roseate Hotel, New Delhi on December 13th, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) introduced an initiative ‘Save Food, Share Food, Share Joy’ promoting food sharing among citizens and food businesses of the country. Also targeting a coalition of food collection partners in the country to fight the issue of hunger, and thus prevent food loss and food waste in India.
Under this initiative, a platform called Indian Food Sharing Alliance (IFSA) creates a network of the food collection agencies and brings together citizens, food businesses, corporates, civil society organizations, volunteers and government and local bodies in a coordinated manner to prevent food being lost or wasted throughout the supply chain — from initial production to final household consumption.
FSSAI also unveiled the two key campaigns i.e. (1) Street food vendor has a heart (2) I too have a heart. ‘Street food vendors have a heart’ is about engaging with street food vendors to encourage them to donate every 10th meal for the needy, which will in turn act as a kick off for ‘I too have a heart campaign,’ which focuses around regular food donation by food businesses and the citizens. These campaigns will be managed through IFSA web based platform.
This web based platform will identify street food vendors and do the mapping of recovery agencies. It will also include volunteer registration and identify hunger spots to cater to larger mass of beneficiaries. The campaign will be launched in Delhi during National Street Food Festival being held in January 2018. Attended by industry experts,organic entrepreneurs from across India, Influencers and national and international Media to the #TastingIndiaSymposium, the IFSA portal will allow donors to track all the data, information and the status of the food being donated through their personal logins. Also, volunteers from across cities will be able to register on this platform to be a part of this initiative. This platform will also provide guidance to citizens, food businesses and various food recovery agencies on prevention of food loss and food waste and safe recovery of surplus food.
Speaking on the launch of “Save Food, Share Food, Share Joy,” the dynamic CEO of FSSAI, Mr Pawan Agarwal was passion, focus, action and outcome personified. “In India, there are multiple food collection agencies working in various cities on their own like No Food Waste, Feeding India, Indian Food Banking Network, Roti Bank, Annakshetra, Giveaway India, Mera Parivaar, Robin Hood Army are few such names. Together, 12 such organisations feed on an average over a lakh people per day in more than 70 cities. Alliance of these food sharing models and implementation of a uniform operation plan will ensure pan India coverage,” Mr Agarwal asserted.
Showcasing exemplary work of individual change by inspired a collective of individuals, partner food collection agencies showcased their respective case studies. Also, during a group discussion on ‘Turning Food Sharing into a National movement,’ Mr Agarwal also highlighted that food waste and food loss is recognized as a global challenge. “Also, there is a significant food loss and food waste in India. It is time to address the need of an integrated approach of food recovery networks across India to combat food waste issues. This initiative is an effort to promote food sharing and recover surplus food in India as we believe that through this initiative, several food collection agencies will be able to work uniformly towards one common goal of saving food, and distributing it to the needy, so that India is able to eradicate hunger problems,” he stressed.
Through creating a network of networks from entities across sectors in India and leveraging the power of technology, FSSAI aims to create an ease of communication among all the stakeholders so that everybody can take a step closer towards reducing food wastage in a uniform direction.
For more information visit and participate with FSSAI: http://www.fssai.gov.in/home
Tasting India Symposium: http://www.tastingindiasymposium.com/
