It's not just in rural areas
More than one in four Indonesian children below the age of 5 suffer from stunting-- more than the entire population of Jakarta.
What is Stunting?
Stunting is the impaired physical and cognitive development that children experience due to inadequate nutrition during the most critical periods of growth in early life. Poor nutrition during this early stage of life can lead to life long health implications.
Stunting is also exacerbated by poor hygiene, lack of accessibility to clean water, infections, and more.
Stunting in Indonesia
Despite the common misconception, stunting is also prevalent in urban areas such as Jakarta. In fact, 32% of stunting occurs among children in urban areas.
Specifically in Indonesia, the cause of stunting isn't so much the lack of caloric intake, but the lack of awareness surrounding balanced nutrition. As many diets are heavy in grains such as rice, the person's needs for vegetables and proteins remain unmet.
As we've recognized this driver of malnourishment in Indonesia, Foodflip has expanded to redistributing fruits and vegetables. We are also currently looking into redistributing milk and eggs. To address the root cause of stunting, we hope to educate children and caregivers about maintaining a sustainable and balanced diet.