Every year, Cuddles Foundation publishes a full impact report. Not because it’s required to. But because transparency about what donor money achieves is part of who we are, and because the families and children whose lives are reflected in those numbers deserve to have their stories counted.
The 2025-26 Impact Report is now published. Here is what happened last year.
The Numbers
In 2025-26, Cuddles Foundation’s FoodHeals™ Program supported 20,277 children across 48 hospitals in 17 states. That is a 56% increase from the 12,929 children reached in 2021-22, achieved through consistent average yearly growth of around 12% – without exception, every single year since Cuddles Foundation was founded in 2013.
Over 2,85,700 nutrition counselling sessions were conducted, nearly three lakh individual conversations between trained nutritionists and families navigating one of the hardest things a family can face. Ninety percent of the children supported stayed on track with their treatment. On any given day, close to 1,235 children are in Cuddles Foundation’s care.
The Aid
The physical scale of what was distributed in 2025-26:
- 24,000 ration bundles,
- 1,543,000 in-meals,
- 85,000 hot meals, and
- 69,000 nutritional supplements.
Each ration bundle was designed to cover 100% of a child’s daily caloric needs for a family of four – cereals, pulses, millets, nuts, oilseeds, ghee.
The Outcomes
Among children entering the programme, 58% were undernourished. Among those who completed treatment, this proportion decreased to 33%. Conversely, the proportion of well-nourished children increased from 38% at programme entry to 54% among those completing treatment.
77% of the children supported returned to school after completing treatment. A sign, verified by independent assessors Crisil Intelligence, that the impact goes beyond the hospital. For every rupee invested in FoodHeals™, ₹2.63 worth of social value is generated.
The Recognition
2025-26 was also the year the world took notice. Cuddles Foundation presented abstracts at SIOP 2025 in Amsterdam and trained Childhood Cancer International members on building nutrition programmes of their own. BMJ Global Health cited Cuddles Foundation’s findings – a signal that the evidence base for food-integrated cancer care is being recognised in peer-reviewed global health literature.
The People
Behind every number is a family. Jyoti, whose son Shaurya was referred to Cuddles Foundation by his treating doctor: “For the first time, I felt like someone was truly guiding us. Knowing my son is getting the right nutrition every day gives me the strength to keep going.”
This is what 20,277 children means. Not a headline. A mother finding strength.
What’s Next
In 2026-27, Cuddles Foundation plans to expand to 52 partner hospitals, roll out the Survivorship Programme for children after cancer treatment, launch a Learning Management Portal for automating and educating nutritionists and the wider paediatric oncology nutrition sector, and develop an AI-powered nutrition co-pilot with Columbia University.
Read the full 2025-26 Impact Report or donate today to be part of what comes next.
