Food Distribution Prospects in Uttar Pradesh
Published on September 19, 2025
In the heart of India, Uttar Pradesh is taking significant strides in enhancing the production and quality of Take-Home Rations (THR) in microenterprise units. This collaborative initiative involves organisations such as the Akshaya Patra Foundation, the Ministry of Women and Child Development through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, and local NGOs dedicated to food and nutrition improvement.
THR, a crucial component of the ICDS's Supplementary Nutrition Programme, offers fortified, calorie-counted, ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat products to children and pregnant/lactating women. However, a study by Schwarz et al. (2018) highlights areas for improvement, including recipe composition and formulation, production and distribution, and monitoring and accountability.
One of the challenges faced in the THR supply chain is the lack of adequate production facilities. Common machinery leasing centres can help overcome this hurdle, ensuring a smooth flow of production.
Another issue is the procurement of raw materials, which is fragmented across districts in Uttar Pradesh, resulting in varying prices and quality. To address this, a district-level e-tendering platform involving women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and community-based organisations should be developed.
The ICDS department, in association with the state rural livelihood mission, needs to internalise inflation-adjusted raw material costs into product prices to ensure sustainability.
In Uttar Pradesh, women SHGs manage THR units under the State Rural Livelihood Mission and the World Food Programme. As of 2022-23, over 200 THR microenterprise units have covered over a million beneficiaries in 40-odd districts.
The energy-dense halwa (EDH), a THR recipe for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) children, has shown promising results in improving weight gain and physical activity for most beneficiaries. However, several THR recipes, such as Atta Besan Barfi premix for pregnant and lactating women and EDH, have a minimal share in the product mix due to profitability concerns.
The State of Uttar Pradesh lags behind in digital tracking, quality assurance systems, and community-based monitoring mechanisms compared to best practices in Kerala, Odisha, Gujarat, and Telangana. Performance-linked solarization support and monthly training programmes for women working in the plants on hygiene, food safety, and machine handling can improve THR operational efficacy.
The National Nutrition Mission (Poshan) focuses on nutritional security for children and mothers. By addressing the challenges in THR production and distribution, Uttar Pradesh is taking a significant step towards achieving this goal. The collaborative efforts of various organisations and initiatives like these highlight the potential for improving nutritional outcomes in the state.
