IXL Social Enterprise Case Studies Food Security January 2013 | Page 15

Food Security in Urban Slums by 2018

Limited infrastructure is difficult to manage
As mentioned above, while urban areas – in general – have better infrastructure and more access to
basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity than rural areas, this infrastructure is usually
difficult to access or unavailable to people in the slums.66 This is because governments are reluctant
to operate and service slum areas as they are considered informal and illegal settlements.
Sanitary facilities are necessary for food processing and preparation
Access to water, sanitation and hygiene is severely lacking in slums because these areas are usually
not considered by local governments during urban and investment planning.67 As a result, people
either pay a high price to middlemen (or water “mafias”) for safe, clean water; or, they use unsafe
water and sanitation facilities. This impacts food preparation and consumption because people get
sick from eating food prepared with unsanitary water. Social enterprises will need to find ways to
ensure clean water is always used in food preparation and processing.
Electricity is needed for refrigeration and preservation
Electricity is usually available in slums, but it is accessed illegally most of the time, which reduces
the reliability of power sources. Additionally, studies have found that electricity is used foremost for
lighting and television.68 Rarely do houses in slums have a refrigerator. Social enterprises have to
consider that food must be consumed soon after purchase because of limited means to preserve
food.
Physical logistics must be efficient for distribution and storage
Adequate physical infrastructure such as roads and permanent buildings do not typically exist in
slums. Lands where migrants from rural areas settle are either illegal (on government or private
property) or unsuited for building physical infrastructure.69 Slums are often garbage dumps, centers
of industrial pollution, and prone to floods, landslides, mudslides or fire.

Version 1.0, January 2013

Hult International Business School Publishing 15