Food and nutrition in the community

SDG 2.4 · UPES report on SDG 2: Zero Hunger

SDG 2.4Food and nutrition in the community

UPES feeds families in crisis, teaches nutrition where it is needed most and supports the livelihoods that keep households food-secure.

1,000migrant-worker families given dry ration packs during COVID-19
4,000+people reached with 8–10 days of food each
3districts of Uttarakhand covered by a nutrition assessment

Relief and nutrition

  • Emergency relief. During the COVID-19 lockdown, UPES gave dry ration family packs to 1,000 migrant-worker families in six rural locations, each lasting a family of four about 8–10 days and together reaching more than 4,000 people.
  • Measuring malnutrition. UPES has assessed the nutritional status of children and families across three districts of Uttarakhand.
  • Livelihoods for rural women. Project Vikalp, UPES's Rural Women Technology Park, helps women in nearby villages earn from recycled-paper products, crafts and growing medicinal and aromatic plants, with campus support for marketing.

Events in the community

  • Rice fortification awareness in Vikasnagar. Staff of the WFP-sponsored Technical Support Unit at UPES visited Vikasnagar block in Dehradun district to explain the benefits of fortified rice to Anganwadi workers, government school staff, fair price shop owners, beneficiaries and grain distribution officials, and to address their concerns. Event report
  • Poshan Maah visit to Sudhowala Anganwadi centre. During National Nutrition Month on 12 September 2023, students visited the Anganwadi centre in Sudhowala, near Nanda Ki Chowki, to give expectant and breastfeeding mothers posters and nutrition advice for every life stage, and to discuss personal hygiene. Event report
  • Training frontline workers. During Poshan Maah, the School of Health Sciences and Technology ran a two-day workshop for Anganwadi and ASHA workers from Sahaspur Block on nutrition security, food fortification and hygiene, with low-cost recipes using local ingredients. Event report
  • Nutrition awareness in underserved communities. B.Sc. Nutrition students took a street play into underserved communities to bust myths about anaemia and explain the value of fortified food. Event report
  • World Food Day 2023. The School of Health Sciences and Technology marked World Food Day in October 2023 with a keynote from the National Health Mission, Government of Uttarakhand, and student activities on diverse, sustainable diets. Event report
UPES nutrition students in costume perform a street play outdoors with a hand-made poster
B.Sc. Nutrition students perform a street play on anaemia and fortified food.
A UPES volunteer works with schoolchildren seated on mats in a government school courtyard
NSS volunteers run a Health Day camp for children at a government school in Pondha.
Technical Support Unit staff with Anganwadi workers and officials during a rice fortification visit in Vikasnagar
The rice fortification team with Anganwadi workers and officials in Vikasnagar block.
Students talk with mothers at the Sudhowala Anganwadi centre during Poshan Maah
Nutrition advice for mothers at the Sudhowala Anganwadi centre, Poshan Maah 2023.

Sources and further reading

Every initiative above has its own page with details, figures, photographs and sources; select its name to open it.