Background
Fill the Nutrition Gap (FNGAP) is a five-year initiative with support from Latter-Day Saints Charities in nine countries. FNGAP’s goal is to improve the availability and consumption of nutritious foods, and to reduce anemia in women, children, and in their families and communities.
FNGAP’s approaches
FNGAP’s integrated approach builds on CARE’s Resilience Framework and goes beyond the ability to recover from shocks to address the root causes of vulnerability. Three approaches are used:
- Home gardens: To improve dietary diversity and provide a sustainable source of essential nutrients (i.e. greens, vegetables and poultry), home gardens are integrated into CARE’s successful Farmer Field and Business School Model (FFBS) in Uganda, Nepal, Guatemala, Ghana, and Ethiopia.
- Distribution of nutritious commodities aimed at preventing iron-deficiency anemia: CARE is piloting the distribution of nutritious food items to promote iron intake, and distributing commodities to prevent underlying causes of anemia. Additional activities include social and behavior change activities, training and capacity building, and campaigns to drive local adoption.
- Production of and access to nutrient-dense local foods, to promote healthy and nutritious meals and snacks, particularly for young children.
