Fortifying Futures for Children in India
By Claudine Galloway
In India, a country with more than 1.2 billion people, one in every three children is malnourished.
If you do the math, that’s 46 million kids exhibiting symptoms of malnourishment, such as anemia and stunted growth.
We’re working to reduce these numbers and help kids in India through our philanthropy at General Mills. And we know school meals are one of the most effective ways to ensure children have a healthy start to life.
By supporting pilot programs with World Food Programme (WFP) in India, 420,000 students receive a mid-day school meal fortified with vitamins and minerals – including iron, zinc and vitamin A – helping prevent deficiencies that can lead to illness, infection and even blindness.
Learn about the program in this video.
“We were thrilled with the success of the pilot programs and have renewed our commitment with WFP to help take the school meals fortification program to scale throughout these states,” says Louise Iverson, senior program manager at the General Mills Foundation. “It is our goal that someday, all children can be well-nourished and ready to thrive.”
General Mills’ support will enable World Food Programme to scale up to reach nearly two million children in Odisha alone.
“Investing in our children is one of the smartest decisions we can make,” says Rick Leach, president and CEO of World Food Program USA. “Thanks to the expertise and dedication of companies like General Mills, children in need will receive the nutrition and education they need to break the cycle of poverty and hunger.”
Together, we can solve hunger and malnutrition for kids in India and across the world.
