NASVI to train street food vendors to mark World Food Day

To clebrate World Food Day which falls on October 16, the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) will impart training to street food vendors on the issue of health and hygiene in the city.

"Promoting and professionalizing street foods in an era of growing costs of food and widespread debates over the issue of sustainability of formal food distribution system, NASVI with support from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is going to build capacity of more than 500 street food vendors in the national capital through imparting them training on issues of health and hygiene on October 21," a statement from NASVI said today.

The street vendors' body believes that once recognised and capacitated, the street food vendors would be more able to increase their enterprise and contribute to sustainability of food economy and its distribution systems.

The capacity building demonstration training would be a part of the ten-day long World Food Day celebrations which NASVI is going to start from October 16 across cities.

Every year the World Food Day falls on October 16 which marks the foundation of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

NASVI said this year the World Food Day throws up a very relevant theme of 'Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition'.

According to NASVI national coordinator Arbind Singh, the growing urbanisation and the shrinking formal food distribution system has stimulated a rise in the number of street food vendors in many cities and towns across India.

"The migration from rural areas to urban centres has created a daily need among many working people to eat outside the home. A large number of college/university going youth is also dependent on such foods. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) also has found that many regions have street food vendors as active labour force," Mr Singh said.

He said even from the angle of poverty reduction, employment and entrepreneurship, the working poor were attracted to this profession.

The ten-day exercise would witness street food vendors taking hands on training on health and hygiene as well as tips and wherewithal on how to make and serve delicious, healthy and nutritious foods to the consumers.