Running Head: Food Distribution Centers in India 1

Food Distribution in India

Eliu Figueroa

Arizona State University

April 26, 2019

Running Head: Food Distribution Centers in India 2

Abstract

This paper is a solution-based paper seeking to find an option to eliminate or reduce food

insecurity in the country of India by creating a more efficient food distribution papers throughout

the country.. This paper outlines all the benefits that come with creating these distribution centers

and how it eliminates common issues caused by food insecurity. This solution will help prevent

stunted growth amongst children and help them develop properly so they can better off in life.

Not only does this solution help children who are malnourished, it provides more jobs for

citizens because with the creation of these distribution centers workers will be needed to build

them and then later on manage them. Having these distribution centers will allow citizens to

purchase food at a lower cost and avoid any food going bad due to improper storage. While

others may argue against this solution, this paper seeks to prove that this solution is the best

option for combating food insecurity in India.

Keywords: Food insecurity, distribution centers, Increase jobs, India, Malnourished children
Running Head: Food Distribution Centers in India 3

Introduction:

In India 10% of produced grain is lost annually due to improper distribution amongst

India’s distribution centers. The reason the grain is lost is more often than not these distribution

centers are filled passed their capacity When this happens tons of grain is improperly stored and

it begins to rot be eaten by rodents. While 10% may seem like a small amount, this 10% of lost

grain can feed up to 70-100 million people, this is just from grain alone, now consider all the

other types of food that most likely also gets distributed inefficiently. Inefficient food

distribution is a huge contributor to food insecurity in India, the most effective way for India to

minimize food insecurity is to improve their food distribution process by creating a more secure

and high capacity distribution centers.

Problem:

India is home to 195.5 million people who suffer from hunger due to food insecurity,

since India holds 1/8th of the world’s population it is very concerning that such a large group is

in this dilemma. A study done in 2014 found that out of 250 families were part of study, 72.2%

of households were food insecure, 49.2% were mildly insecure, 18.8% were moderately

insecure, and 9.2% were severely insecure (Chinnakali 2014). Investigations found that during

transportation of grains 10% of it all was being lost due to improper handling and storage

because food distribution centers were being forced to store grain passed their capacity causing

all the improperly stored grain to go bad.(Chyne 2017). This 10% of grain is enough to feed

70-100 million people, solving this issue alone is enough to help half if not more than half of the

people who are suffering.

Running Head: Food Distribution Centers in India 4

Solution:

If the government of India ensured that distribution centers were secured and everyone

was receiving their food, this alone can help millions of people escape food insecurity. Not only

would their food insecurity decrease but, they would have an extra bit of income that they can

put towards either more food or other things such as bills, clothing, or anything they may need.

Furthermore, creating more distribution centers can provide accessibility of food to millions of

people all over India. This will help combat the issue of lack of food in rural areas where certain

food cannot be attained as easily in urban areas and vice versa. This would also help combat the

issue of people moving to urban areas in search of better paying jobs and resulting in food prices

being more expensive than in rural areas. If there are distribution centers with surplus of food,

prices would not be so high due to high amounts available. This allows people to make more

money and not have to spend it all on food. This results in more people becoming self sufficient

and not having to struggle or rely on help from others.

How better distribution centers can provide more jobs:

Building more distribution centers will also provide more jobs for people who are

struggling to find one. The Indian government will need to hire people to design and actually

build these distribution centers which will require most likely thousands of people to do. Once

the distribution center are built they are going to need personnel to manage the distribution

center and make sure the food is properly taken care of and properly distributed. Not only will

the new distribution centers provide accessibility to the people in need it will provide new jobs

for those in need of one and this will allow them to make a decent wage so they can purchase

food thus eliminating food insecurity amongst them.

Running Head: Food Distribution Centers in India 5

Secure Food Distribution Centers:

Reports from India's Public Distribution Systems shows that 50% of all grain that is sent

out to 50,000 fair price shops, traders get their hands on it and sell the grain at higher prices to

open markets(Devraj 2013). This is a major reason why India's Food distribution system needs to

be more secure, the wrong people are receiving this food and are selling it to the people who

actually need it for higher prices. The people of India already struggle as it is with money and

with this ongoing issue it makes it more difficult for people to purchase food. With the creation

of more advanced distribution centers better personnel will be managing them and this issue will

cease to exist. This will save the people of India money all over the country allowing anyone to

afford the grain and leftover money to buy other foods.

How better distribution can help children:

Research has found that 37% of indian children under the age are underweight due to the

lack of food and 39% of children have their growth stunted which not only affects them now but

later on in life the effects of this will still be prevalent because of the improper development

(NDTV 2017). Having more distribution centers will allow parents to acquire food a lot easier

for their children and will allow children to consume the amount of food required for them to

grow at a healthy rate. In many cases infants only receive their nutrition through breastfeeding

which means for them to receive food their mother must have food as well. Having the ability to

easily purchase food not only allows children to eat but in some cases required to mother to eat

before the child can eat which results in two people eating properly.

How women benefit from better food distribution:

Running Head: Food Distribution Centers in India 6

Research was done on 770 Indian women in 2018 to collect data on food insecurity

amongst these women and their nutritional status. The research found that of these 770 women

94.1% of them had anemia. Not only was this prevalent in the lower class of people but also in

the upper and middle classes, their prevalence was 71% which is still a large number. This goes

to show that despite having money the quality of food being eaten isn’t all that good because

there is a lack of proper foods. The prevalence of anemia amongst food insecure women was

89.1%, this is a very alarming percentage. Fortunately, with the creation of food distribution

centers most of these women will no longer have to deal with food insecurity and with that

comes less prevalence of anemia. These women will be able to purchase food at lower costs and

allow them to spend the extra money on better quality food to help their anemia. What people do

not understand is when this many women are anemic this leads to a large amount of underweight

babies being born. Not only does the mother benefit from this but their future babies will too.

How much will it all cost?

Despite all the benefits that will come with the creation of better distribution centers

people will argue that the cost to build these centers will be high. The new distribution centers

will require a very large amount of material, the workers who build them will need to be paid

and then the people who will be running them will need to be paid as well. This project can

possibly cost up to or more than 1 billion dollars based on that fact that hundreds of these centers

will need to be created. This large number can be very freighting for the government of India but

with a GDP of 2.597 trillion USD as of 2017 India should have 1 billion dollars to spare. Not

only do they have enough money to pay for it all, money should not be a factor at all. This
Running Head: Food Distribution Centers in India 7

project will help provide sustainable food for generations to come and help India prosper as a

country.

Conclusion:

Inefficient food distribution is a huge contributor to food insecurity in India, the most

effective way for India to minimize food insecurity is to improve their food distribution process

by creating a more secure and high capacity distribution centers. Creating these distribution

centers will not only make food more accessible but it will help lower the costs of it as well,

resulting in more people being able to purchase this food and potentially have left over money to

purchase more food or pay for other necessities. The benefits that come with creating the

distribution centers are enormous and can really help make a change in the Indian society. This

will help people become healthier for generations to come and will help the country of India to

prosper.
 Running Head: Food Distribution Centers in India 8

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