On Tuesday 5 August, the first pilot healthy food market was launched in India as part of the Indian Food Systems for Improved Nutrition (INFUSION) project. Co-designed and run by local women, the Jeevika Didi Haat (the market) in Telhara village, Nalanda District, Bihar, will provide jobs, and nutritious, affordable food for the community.
Nutrient-dense foods such as vegetables, fruits, milk and eggs have a critical role to play in boosting nutrition.
The vast bulk of food consumption in low and middle income countries, especially of nutrient-dense foods, is purchased from food markets by people based in rural communities. However, such nutritious foods have limited availability and are expensive, and poor hygiene, cleanliness and food safety remain major concerns at food markets.
Supported by Gates Foundation and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the INFUSION project has been working in Bihar and Odisha in India over the last couple of years to understand how food markets impact nutritional outcomes and to help rural food markets deliver their potential for nutrition.
INFUSION is a five-year project, led by the University of Sheffield, developing and testing innovative ideas focused on leveraging food markets in India to improve access and affordability to nutritious foods for rural communities.
The team has been collecting data to: characterise the state of traditional food markets; track prices and the availability of nutrient-dense foods at high frequency across markets; and unpack the links between diets and markets.
In collaboration with JEEVIKA, which is an initiative of the Government of Bihar for Poverty Alleviation, INFUSION has been developing a healthy food market initiative, Jeevika Didi Haat, which is co-designed and run by women from the local community.
Jeevika Didi Haats are a different concept from the typical rural market. They aim to improve the access of rural communities to affordable and safe nutrient-dense foods, and follow five pillars:
- Ensuring a good supply of affordable nutrient-dense foods.
- Strategies to reduce the loss and waste of highly perishable nutritious foods such as vegetables and fish.
- Standards to maintain clean markets and safe and hygienic foods.
- A safe and friendly shopping experience, especially for women based in rural areas.
- Using the markets to spread nutrition messages and boost demand for healthy foods.
Jeevika Didi Haats emphasise food safety and hygiene, and keeping food spoilage to a minimum. Vendors are trained in appropriate food handling and storage. Facilities such as raised platforms, storage materials and separate male and female toilets are provided. The markets aim to offer a welcoming experience, especially to women shoppers, with provision of good lighting and security personnel. There are also activities and games that encourage visitors to eat nutritious foods.
Inaugurating the Telhara Jeevika Didi Haat, Honourable Minister for Rural Development, Shri Shravan Kumar said, “This is a big day not only for Nalanda District, but for Bihar too, as a major programme has started that will provide both nutritious foods and jobs for local women.”
In addition to their nutrition and health objectives, these investments in rural communities will also provide outlets to local farmers for their produce, and livelihood opportunities in managing and running the haats. The markets also offer customers a range of important other services, such as tailoring and stationery supplies, with the intention that the resulting increased footfall will encourage the uptake of nutritious foods.
Institute for Sustainable Food member and co-lead for INFUSION, Dr. Bhavani Shankar, from the University of Sheffield said, “Our team has been hard at work for over two years, conceptualising, designing and implementing this innovative healthy food market concept. The market concept incorporates good practice strategies towards better availability of nutrient-dense foods, improved food safety, reduced food loss, demand creation for healthy diets, and gender and climate sensitivity. An exciting aspect has been the co-design of this intervention with the government and the local community. INFUSION will continue collecting and analysing data to evaluate and learn from this pilot."
The Jeevika Didi Haat in Telhara village is expected to be the first of many to be established throughout Bihar, India.
To keep up-to-date with the latest project development, please visit the INFUSION project website.