Over the last two decades, India has seen tremendous economic growth. Yet, despite having one of the ten largest economies in the world, hunger in India is rampant. The International Food Policy Research Institute ranks India at 97th place for combating hunger. All throughout India, large numbers of people do not have enough to eat, especially women and children. Of the 1.3 billion living in India, over 194 million people, or 14.5%, are undernourished. This crisis is a severe problem throughout India, and is difficult to address for a variety of reasons.

The Causes of Hunger

One of the primary causes of hunger across the nation is widespread poverty. More than 20% of India’s population lives on less than $1.25 per day. This lack of money makes it so that many cannot get enough of the nutritious food they need. Another cause is a lack of access to food. In the more rural parts of India, markets are not easily accessible and often have limited availability.. In the face of these factors, rural areas in India tend to struggle the most. This especially impacts children in these areas. More than 20.8% of children under 5 in India are underweight and 37.9% have had their growth stunted. 

Our Solution

At Akshaya Patra, we have played an active role in combating India’s hunger problem for 20 years. While we cannot address all of the causes of hunger in India, we can do our best to alleviate what we can. Through our school-lunch program, we are able to feed over 1,800,000 children per day and over 4 million per year. Our goal for the new decade is to be able to feed 5 million children each day by 2025. You can help us achieve that goal and combat hunger in India. Donate to Akshaya Patra today to help us address childhood hunger all throughout India.