New Delhi: Street food is to become cleaner, healthier and
prepared better as hundreds of street food vendors will undergo
training on how to serve up healthier food.
Street food is the more affordable eating out option for millions
of Indians, and it is street food that attracts tourists who want to
grab the real flavours of 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, the National Association of Street
Vendors of India (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 21 October.
The street vendors’ body believes that once recognized 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 days long ‘World Food Day’ celebrations which NASVI is going to
start from 16 October across cities. Every year the World Food Day falls
on 16 October and it marks the foundation of the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO). 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
urbanization 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 Organization (ILO) also has found that many regions
have street food vendors as active labour force.
Mr. Singh says, “Even from the angle of poverty reduction, employment
and entrepreneurship, the working poor are attracted to this profession
because of the possibility of earning relatively high incomes. The
working people engaged in street food vending act as entrepreneurs who
generate ‘cultural capital’ while building a healthier future for
themselves and their families. The flexibility entailed in street food
vending creates diversity in the family’s income generating activities
which is important at this time of economic globalization”.
The demonstrable capacity building exercise going to take place at
the constitution club in Delhi on 21 October 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. Several culinary masters and health
and nutrition experts would join the training as resource persons. The
kits having apron, hand gloves, headgears and pouches of disinfectants
would be given to the participating street food vendors.
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