Be a Hunger Champion

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.

State of Hunger in India

According to FAO estimates in ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2018” report, 195.9 million people are undernourished in India. By this measure 14.8% of the population is undernourished in India. Also, 51.4% of women in reproductive age between 15 to 49 years are anaemic. Further according to the report 38.4% of the children aged under five in India are stunted (too short for their age), while 21% suffer from wasting, meaning their weight is too low for their height. Malnourished children have a higher risk of death from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria. The Global Hunger Index 2017 ranks India at 100 out of 119 countries on the basis of three leading indicators -- prevalence of wasting and stunting in children under 5 years, under 5 child mortality rate, and the proportion of undernourished in the population.

Food Loss & Food Waste

On the other hand, it is estimated that nearly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year gets lost or wasted. 40 percent of the fruits and vegetables, and 30 percent of cereals that are produced are lost due to inefficient supply chain management and do not reach the consumer markets. While significant levels of food losses occur upstream, at harvest and during post-harvest handling, a lot of food is lost or wasted during the distribution and consumption stages. Some food is also wasted on the shelves and in the warehouses of food businesses either due to excess production, introduction of new products, labeling errors, or due to shorter remaining shelf life. Such food could be salvaged by timely withdrawing it from the distribution network, aggregating it and then redirecting it to the people in need.

Key facts about hunger in India

Largest India is home to the largest undernourished population in the world

14.9% of our population is undernourished

195.9million 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 malnourished

Driving Rise Against Hunger India’s work is the recognition that ending hunger is more than just feeding people. Our efforts are therefore directed towards expanding the hunger-fighting programs beyond meal packaging and distribution. Our mission is directly aligned with the SDG 2 i.e. Zero Hunger by 2030. Our programs in India aim to achieve the following:

• Vulnerable populations have the capacity to be food source
• Supporting meal, nutrients awareness and health program
• Facilitating sustainable agriculture development
• Promoting micro-enterprise & Income Generation
• Food System are equitable
• Argo-ecosystems are sustainably managed
• Inclusive Market System are strengthened
• Civil Society and local Institutions have the capacity to support the food security
• Enabling Policy environment promotes food security
• Volunteer engagement activities to create hunger champions
• Food and nutrition safety through hunger education programs
• Right to food advocacy

• Lives Nourished
• Total: 7,76,557
• 2018: 2,69,827
• Meals Packed
• Total: 61,44,879
• 2018: 28,46,929
• Volunteers Engaged
• Total: 28,904
• 2018: 12,881
• Local Partners
• Total: 140
• 2018: 100