Why Do We Need Staple Foods?

Staple food forms a part of the traditional diet especially among the poor. It consists of typically starchy food that is high in providing energy. Staple food can be stored for consumption throughout the year. The food groups that form a staple diet have a vegetable origin. Though starchy foods are nutritious, one cannot really depend on them for a full range of nutrients and have to intake other foods to have a balanced diet. However staple food does form an important form of the balanced diet.

Staple foods consist of cereals like rice, wheat, maize, fleshy root vegetables like potatoes and cassava. Some of the other food groups providing staple diet are pulses, sago and fruits like plantains and breadfruit.  Though staple foods vary in different areas of the world, they are usually found to support basic dietary requirements in poverty stricken areas of the world. The sweet-potato, for example, is rich in vitamins and dietary fibre.  Staple foods are easy to make and can feed a lot of people. Cereals can also be converted into flour and used to make things like bread, pasta, noodles etc. A staple food typically forms the part of an everyday meal.

To keep us strong and healthy and to keep our diet balanced x

We need staple foods to form a healthy balanced diet!