New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS): In an effort to provide nutritious food to 2.5 lakh Delhi households that cannot afford such food in the normal course, a "foodathon" was launched Wednesday, on the occasion of World Food Day.

The programme was launched by the foodbanking network to mark World Food Day, which is observed Oct 16 each year. The drive will conclude Nov 7.

"Hunger and malnutrition remain critical issues in India. Simply put, the underprivileged are either not getting sufficient quantities of food, meaning they go hungry, or do not receive the right sort of nutritious food (this variety of hunger is called "hidden hunger"). This feeds into a continuous cycle of urban poverty, which affects the ability of entire families to work and be healthy," said Tanuja Kehar, vice-president of corporate communications with Unitech, a real estate investment firm.

The foodathon has been started with contributions from 33 companies who have made donations of key staples including rice, wheat flour, edible oil, wheat porridge and pulses.

"We would serve 2.5 lakh vulnerable households across Delhi by providing nutritional support across 32 feeding locations in Delhi and NCR, comprising schools, shelter homes, orphanages and other locations," said Kuldip Nar, managing director of Aidmatrix Foundation, a US-based non-profit organisation.