Mission

If one were to browse through the available statistics on malnutrition in India today, despite all the considerable socioeconomic developments, especially on the healthcare front, it would be impossible to overlook the severity of gaps tens of thousands of children encounter across the country. According to the 2019-21 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, 32.1% of children in India are underweight (16 March 2022 Press Release). Similarly, stunting among children stands at a concerning 35.5%, and wasting at 19.3%. All these data points to one pertinent question: Doesn’t this affect far too many young lives? 

There is more to discuss to understand the gravity of the whole picture. Data from the Poshan Abhiyaan scheme’s tracker – where 8.55 crores of children between the ages of 0 and 6 enrolled in Anganwadis were measured on growth parameters (out of 8.82 crores) – shows that 37% have stunted growth and 17% are underweight (Rajya Sabha, Unstarred Question, December 2024). 

These figures, unfortunately, represent young children in India whose development, education and general well-being are all in jeopardy; that is why they are more than mere numbers. India, after all, has the highest child wasting rate globally (18.7%) and a “serious” level of hunger, ranking 102nd out of 123 countries in the 2025 Global Hunger Index (GHI India 2025). Further, most reports point to growing challenges in ensuring children receive consistent quality and the nutritional value they require, even though safety nets such as the central government’s Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM-POSHAN) Scheme are in place. 

Kitchen & Community for Kids (KiCK) was established in March 2025 with a profound awareness of this context and a sincere desire to give back to the community. Our goal is to improve community-level action to support the vital, ongoing work of governmental and non-governmental bodies to improve nutritional outcomes. One step at a time, we hope to strengthen awareness about and access to nutrition for the most vulnerable children across the country.