Self-help groups manufacture ready-to-eat nutrition for women and children while creating local livelihoods
Published on: January 07, 2025
By: BTNI
Location: Raipur, India
Economic empowerment is rooted in a strong mindset built on determination, confidence, and sustained effort. Women associated with self-help groups (SHGs) in Surajpur district have translated this belief into action, emerging as a powerful example of self-reliance. These women are not only strengthening their own economic standing but are also playing a crucial role in ensuring nutritional security for women and children across the district.
Under government-supported initiatives, Ready-to-Eat (RTE) nutrition manufacturing units are being operated by women-led SHGs to supply nutritious food to anganwadi centres. These units prepare fortified food items for children, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls, thereby simultaneously addressing nutrition delivery and women’s empowerment. The food products contain essential ingredients such as wheat, pulses, and milk, rich in proteins and vital nutrients.
To ensure the availability of quality nutrition, RTE manufacturing plants have been launched in the district to produce nutritious savoury dalia and sweet fortified food supplements for immediate consumption. These products are enriched with essential micronutrients including Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pyridoxine, Folic Acid, Cobalamin, Iron, Calcium, and Zinc, supporting maternal and child health.
The district administration has established seven nutrition manufacturing units, of which three units are currently operational in Bhaiyathan, Pratappur, and Surajpur development blocks. A total of 32 women are directly engaged in nutrition production at these three units. The prepared nutrition is distributed free of cost through anganwadi centres to pregnant women and children, strengthening maternal and child nutrition at the grassroots level.
Importantly, women’s SHGs have also been entrusted with the responsibility of distribution, further enhancing their role in the implementation chain. In Surajpur block, 15 SHGs, and in Pratappur block, 13 SHGs, are actively involved in distribution activities. Through these groups, nearly 430 women are engaged in delivering nutrition to anganwadi centres.
This initiative has generated local employment opportunities and enabled women to balance household responsibilities with income-generating work. Mentally empowered and economically active, these women are steadily moving towards financial independence. The initiative is expected to significantly improve nutritional outcomes in the district while standing as an inspiring model demonstrating how women’s empowerment and public health objectives can be achieved together.
Also read- https://www.btnewsindia.com/rajnandgaon-police-bust-inter-state-theft-gang/ https://www.btnewsindia.com/collector-prioritises-womens-health-farmer-welfare-and-education-quality/
