Bill Clinton’s CGI backs initiative to train 10,000 Indian street food vendors on healthier cooking

# Arogya World to Train 10,000 Indian Street Food Vendors in Healthier Cooking

Arogya World has announced a two-year initiative to train 10,000 street food vendors across India in healthier cooking practices, expanding its efforts to address diet-related noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

The initiative was announced as a new Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action at the CGI 2026 Annual Meeting in New York.

The program will focus on practical changes that vendors can make in their daily operations, including reducing excess salt, avoiding repeated use of cooking oil, using healthier ingredients and adopting cooking methods that can support more balanced meals.

Arogya World says the program could have a significant reach because street food vendors serve large numbers of customers each day. The organization estimates that an individual vendor may serve roughly 80 to 100 people daily, meaning the 10,000 vendors targeted by the initiative could potentially influence the food choices of hundreds of thousands of consumers.

“We want to change the way India eats,” said Dr. Nalini Saligram, founder and CEO of Arogya World.

She said street food plays an important role in the daily lives of millions of Indians who purchase meals and snacks before work, after school or between shifts. Arogya World believes that educating vendors alongside consumers can strengthen broader efforts to prevent diabetes and other chronic diseases.

### Program to Start in Mumbai and Bengaluru

Arogya World will implement the program in partnership with the National Association of Street Vendors of India, or NASVI.

The initiative will initially focus on Mumbai and Bengaluru before being expanded to additional urban centers across India.

Training materials will be designed to be practical, visual and culturally appropriate, allowing them to be used by vendors with different levels of formal education and literacy.

The sessions will address topics including salt consumption, cooking-oil use, healthier ingredients and preparation methods, as well as the relationship between dietary habits and diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

The organizations also plan to conduct assessments before and after training to measure changes in vendors' knowledge and cooking practices.

Standardized educational materials will be used to make the program easier to adapt and replicate as it expands into additional cities.

“We are proud to partner with Arogya World on this important public health initiative and will facilitate community engagement and cascade the needed training,” said Arbind Singh, national coordinator of NASVI.

He said the partnership could help empower street vendors to improve their own health as well as the health of the customers they serve.

Beyond Type 1 will provide funding support for the initiative. Kristian Hurley, the organization's executive vice president for Social Impact and Global Advocacy, said solutions intended to improve health should take into account the communities they are designed to serve.

### Initiative Builds on Bengaluru Pilot

The nationwide program builds on Arogya World's earlier work with street food vendors in Bengaluru.

In 2024, the organization launched a training initiative with NIDAN that targeted 500 vendors across seven high-footfall locations in the city. Training was delivered using local languages, visual materials and practical demonstrations designed for use in everyday food-stall environments.

Arogya World's subsequent evaluation found substantial improvements in knowledge related to healthier cooking practices. Awareness of recommended daily salt intake increased from 42% before the intervention to 79% afterward, according to the organization's published account of the study.

The program also addressed the health concerns associated with repeatedly reusing cooking oil and encouraged vendors to consider healthier ingredients and cooking methods.

However, the experience also highlighted a distinction between improving knowledge and maintaining long-term behavioral changes. Continued reinforcement and practical support can be important when attempting to translate training into sustained changes at food stalls.

Arogya World says its earlier work demonstrated that street food vendors can incorporate healthier cooking practices while continuing to operate their businesses.

### India Faces a Major NCD Burden

The initiative comes as India continues to face a substantial burden from diabetes, hypertension and other noncommunicable diseases.

Street food forms an important part of India's urban food environment, providing affordable meals and snacks to large numbers of consumers.

Arogya World argues that public-health efforts have traditionally focused heavily on food safety and hygiene, while nutrition-focused interventions aimed specifically at the informal food sector have received comparatively less attention.

The organization's street food program attempts to address that gap by reaching vendors directly and giving them simple, practical information that can be incorporated into their daily cooking practices.

Arogya World has also developed nutrition-focused resources such as its MyThali program, which provides guidance on meal choices and encourages healthier food combinations.

### Arogya World's Broader Prevention Efforts

Arogya World is a nonprofit organization focused on preventing diabetes and other noncommunicable diseases through education, healthier lifestyles and behavior-change programs.

The organization has previously undertaken large-scale health initiatives in India, including programs focused on diabetes prevention, healthy workplaces, schools and nutrition.

Its new street food vendor commitment represents an effort to extend that prevention approach into the informal food economy, where vendors have direct and frequent interactions with consumers.

The Clinton Global Initiative, established by former President Bill Clinton in 2005, brings organizations together around specific commitments intended to address social and economic challenges.

Under the new commitment, Arogya World will lead program design, training, health communication, monitoring and evaluation, while NASVI will support engagement with street vendors and Beyond Type 1 will provide financial support.

The two-year initiative is expected to begin in Mumbai and Bengaluru before expanding to other Indian cities, with the broader goal of making healthier cooking practices more accessible across the country's street food sector.