A remarkable event to commemorate World Food Safety Day 2023 at the Rangpur City Corporation has been organized by the NICE project this 11th June 2023. Aligned with this year’s World Food Safety Day theme “Food Standard Saves Lives” the NICE team took on the important responsibility of distributing nutrition packages to the city’s residents, emphasizing the importance of consuming nutritious food. A total of 260 nutrition packages were distributed to 260 city dwellers, including 215 females and 45 males.
The nutrition packages included the value chains NICE is focusing on in Bangladesh: Zinc biofortified rice, bitter gourd, brinjal, cucumber, and mango. Ensuring a diverse and balanced nutritional intake, lentils and eggs, providing an ample supply of protein to the residents of Rangpur, were added to the nutrition packages. To guarantee the safety and quality of the food, the NICE team sourced all these products from farmers who had received extensive training in safe food production and agroecology: Eleven farmers associated with the Shalmara Farmers’ Hub and Khordokashinathpur Farmers’ Hub contributed 260 kilograms of brinjals, bitter gourds, and cucumbers.
The event in Rangpur was graced by Umme Fatima, Senior Secretary of the Rangpur City Corporation, who served as the chief guest. In her address, she emphasized on the importance of food standards in ensuring safe food consumption, urging everyone to be aware of global contexts. She also acknowledged the significant contribution of the NICE team in promoting nutrition and well-being of the city dwellers. Furthermore, the event was also attended by esteemed individuals, including city councilors Md. Rezowan Ahmed and Md. Momdel Hossen, Hasna Banu, Assistant Director of National Consumer Protection Rights Rangpur, and Md. Borhan Uddin, as well as Md. Mostofa Nurul Islam Reza, Head of Agriculture at Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS).
