UPSC Articles
Community kitchens
Part of: Prelims and GS-II – Policies and interventions
Context The Supreme Court recently questioned the Union Government’s commitment to run community kitchens across the country to reduce hunger.
- It said that the first job of a welfare state was to ensure that people did not starve to death.
Key takeaways
- The court observed that the Government’s progress was slow in framing a national policy to run community kitchens in consultation with the State Governments.
- The SC has given the Government three weeks as a last opportunity to hold a meeting and frame a policy.
Perils of starvation
- Starvation deaths continue to impinge upon the right to life and dignity of the social fabric.
- A “radical” new measure like community kitchens needed to be set up across the country to feed the poor and the hungry.
No statistics for starvation
- While there are statistics available for malnutrition deaths in children and adults in the country, there is no official data available for death of persons owing to starvation.
- Food and Agriculture Report 2018 stated that India houses 195.9 million of the 821 million undernourished people in the world which accounts for approximately 24% of the world’s hungry.
- Prevalence of undernourishment in India is 14.8%, higher than both the global and Asian average.
Community kitchens in various states
- Tamil Nadu’s Amma Unavagam was a huge success by involving peers in self-help groups and employing the poor to serve hygienic food to eradicate the gnawing problem of hunger on the streets.
- Other examples include –
- Rajasthan’s Annapurna Rasoi
- Indira Canteen in Karnataka
- Aam Aadmi Canteen in Delhi
- Anna Canteen of Andhra Pradesh
- Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Dal Bhat in Jharkhand
- Ahaar Centre in Odisha
