Food Bank to Save Food

These days there is a lot of concern about the prices of fruits and vegetables. Because of increased prices, these have gone out of the reach of the common man. Everyone advises the use of fruits and vegetables from the point of view of health, but usually the consumption is limited to a section of society. Every year, many crops like tomatoes etc. are thrown on the streets. If we map the use of fruits and vegetables, then apart from the economically capable, only those who produce them use them. The marginalised, labourers, deprived and even the lower middle class with economic disparities are able to use fruits and vegetables only in very limited quantities. Everyone has the desire but lack of resources comes in between. There is also a class which considers an average of 10 percent of fruits and vegetables useless and throws them in the dustbin.

It is not that the production of fruits and vegetables is less in India. According to estimates, it is as per the requirement of the common man or more than that. But still it is out of reach. Also, the farmers are not satisfied with the income in proportion to land owning, labour involved and uncertainties. A few decades ago, Dr. Ram Aneja of the National Dairy Development Board, through his study, proved that the production of fruits and vegetables has better yield than the common agricultural products. According to him, the farmer will get better income from their production per hectare of land. But to make the vegetable harvesting popular, it is necessary that a strong arrangement of cold chain is made. Without a proper storage system, its fate will be bad. In the absence of cold chain, the fruit and vegetable produce gets spoiled quickly and due to part of the produce getting rotten, increase in prices becomes inevitable. On the contrary, many times the quantity of produce becomes so much that its storage and transportation becomes much more than the market price.

The above situation is basically the result of imbalance and lack of infrastructure. In the past years, significant efforts have been made to increase appropriate storage, but appropriate and adequate transportation is still very expensive. Above all, there is a need for planning and accurate estimation at the farm level. At present, farmers are not able to make correct assessments and as a result, a large amount of produce remain unsold. It has also been found that the selection of produce is also mostly done in competition or by imitation. Due to lack of market and use assessment at the time of sowing, a large amount of food material is wasted, which can be stopped to a great extent.

At the Global level, food banks have been established in view of food wastage so that there is no wastage anywhere from production to consumption level. Unfortunately, in India, where charity is considered the basis of life as per the Sanatani tradition, food banks have not been established at the actual level yet. We do have a tradition of donating food material or food, but it is completely unorganised and far from quality standards. Generally, the tradition of donating food is limited to some hospitals, temples, orphanages or various ashrams. Before donating food or materials, no requirement is assessed so that it can be known what kind of material is required. In donating food or materials, it is important that the class which is malnourished, economically deprived, labour, should get the benefit but the ground reality is very different, still there is more show off and very less reality. In the initial experience of Annakshetra, lack of transparency and too much of expectations were found among the ashram based beneficiaries forcing with the aim of improving, it to limit sharing of meals with labourers who contribute to productivity. t

Across the world, a strategy is made to distribute agricultural, fruits, vegetables, dairy products, etc. materials through food banks with full care so that it becomes someone's food before it gets spoiled. Before any food material is wasted, the first right on it is of humans, second of animals and birds and then to make fertiliser and gas. In developed countries, by communicating with farmers, the excess produce is purchased and sent to these food banks with the help of donors or government assistance. Thereafter, the food banks work to deliver the material to the designated classes such as women, children, elderly, specially abled persons, economically deprived classes through volunteers in a scientific manner. At many places, kitchens are also attached to food banks so that no one remains hungry. These food banks have large refrigerators for proper preservation of the material so that it remains in good condition for a long time. At the national level also, the government should implement a program to encourage the establishment of food banks like other nations so that no food is wasted. It is worth mentioning that one-third of the produce gets wasted and this is also the reason for more than one-fourth of carbon emissions. Initially, food banks can be established along with the Agricultural Produce Market (Mandi) of the districts and preservation can be done before wastage. Voluntary organisations should also take initiative in this regard and try to stop the wastage of food. If there is a system of storing fruits and vegetables at the market level before they get spoiled, it will help in providing healthy food to many people. Wastage of food is directly taking away the food from someone's mouth. Along with this, intense awareness drive against food wastage should be initiated on a large scale right from childhood. Preventing wastage is more important than distribution of food and food items, just like Penny Saved is Penny Earned.