Reimagining Cities: Assuring the Right to Food for the Migrant Poor in Pune City

ABSTRACT

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is seeking to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. It guarantees every citizen with access to adequate food throughout the year through sustainable food systems. Although India has made considerable progress in tackling hunger and poor nutrition in the past two decades, the Global Hunger Index indicates that India suffers from a level of hunger that is 'serious'. During lockdown, the poor food security structure and its functioning have been observed. The urban informal migrant labourers are the most vulnerable to hunger and experienced acute food scarcity. By addressing food security and rights interventions, our cities would be inclusive. The paper discusses the issue of rights to food with regard to the urban informal sector, migrant labourers and experiences during COVID-19 response work in Pune city.