IXL Social Enterprise Case Studies Food Security January 2013 | Page 8

Food Security in Urban Slums by 2018

Not Within Our Culture
Every night Jun Santos comes home to
his family and he sees dinner prepared
by his wife. It’s noodles again. Rice is
usually ubiquitous in the Filipino diet for
breakfast, lunch and dinner, not noodles.
The Santos family, though, can’t eat the
rice they’d prefer. Because there are
more mouths to feed and rice is a more
expensive staple, they are going for the
cheaper alternative.17

Not Tasty
Anganwadi centers in Mumbai, India are
places intended to combat hunger and
malnutrition. On the menu is only Khichdi
(prepared rice and lentils) or boiled chana
and laapsi (wheat mush with beans). By
noontime, the food has gone cold, soggy
and lacks taste. Children usually do not
mind eating the same food every day,
but they wish it tasted a little better. They
complain, but their requests are often met
with disappointment.18

Not Enough Food
Sapta Mega Pratiwi brought her
15-month old son Ahmad to a regional
hospital a few weeks ago. When doctors
first saw him, he was a little over 15
pounds - far too light for a child that age.
He had a big belly, skinny legs, and brittle
hair. “Sometimes there’s food, sometimes
there’s not. We don’t earn enough money
to always afford food.” Sapta says. After
a few weeks enrolled in a supplemental
feeding program, A