IXL Social Enterprise Case Studies Food Security January 2013 | Page 7

Food Security in Urban Slums by 2018

Not in My Budget
Nasreen Khatoun’s tiny, cramped and
poorly built home is in the Bhagwanpura
slum in India. Nasreen lost two of her
children to malnutrition when they
were just two years old. Her daughter
was the first to pass away. “She died of
acute malnutrition; she seemed to have
dried up. She was just skin and bones,”
says Nasreen. “Prices have doubled of
everything in the last one year. Everything
is expensive the children eat only one meal
a day. There is no assistance. We don’t
know what to feed our children.” 11

Not Ready to Eat
31-year-old Diana is from Jakarta,
Indonesia. She lives in the cramped,
crowded quarters of a Jakarta slum. She
doesn’t have a kitchen or cooking supplies
to prepare meals, so she purchases cheap
street food that is usually high in fat and
sugar, but low in protein and nutrients.
The food tastes ok, but it’s putting Diana’s
two children at risk. A diet like this can
lead to acute malnutrition, as well as
anemia and stunted growth. Diana wants
to buy a small stove, but the only stove she
can afford will pump dangerous kerosene
fumes into her home.14

People need knowledge to make the right food choices
Building food security, in part, means building knowledge about food choices. People need to
understand food quality standards, appropriate preparation methods, and the elements of a
nutritious diet. In the developed and developing world, in rural towns and megacities, consumers
don’t have enough knowledge or information about how to create a diverse and nutritious diet on
a limited income.12 Beyond knowledge about food itself, people need to know how to navigate the
retail food system. People need to know where to get healthy food and what fair prices are.13
Consumer behavior does not always yield the “best” decision available. People often choose to
buy food that is filling over food that is nutritious or not tasty. Just like wealthy consumers, poor
people make choices for a variety of reasons that can detract from the long term best interests
of an individual and family. From “keeping up with the neighbors” to spending large amounts on
entertainment, tobacco and alcohol, families are choosing to sacrifice portions of their income. For
instance, it is estimated that families in Udaipur in India could spend up to 30 percent more income
on food if they were to cut back on alcohol, tobacco, and entertainment.15

Not Safe
Desperate for work, Themba Mgodla went to
a food factory in Cape Town, South Africa.
In exchange for helping load the truck with
packages of cookies, candies, jams and
juice, he was promised some of the food as
payment. As he brought the food back to
Polile Park, some of his hungry neighbors
quickly snatched the food. More than a 100
people got sick as they realized the food
was expired by more than 10 years. Even
knowing how rotten it was, residents didn’t
want to give up the food. They would rather
take the risk than stay hungry.16

Version 1.0, January 2013

Hult International Business School Publishing 7