Stunting remains a pervasive global public health crisis, disproportionately affecting children in low- and middle-income countries by causing irreversible linear growth faltering and long-term cognitive and metabolic deficits (Mulyani et al., 2024). Originating from chronic malnutrition, recurrent infections, and inadequate nutrient intake during the critical first 1,000 days of life, stunting extends far beyond mere physical impairment (Taslim et al., 2023). It is inextricably linked to delayed neurodevelopment, diminished academic achievement, reduced economic productivity in adulthood, and a heightened susceptibility to non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disorders, later in life, thereby perpetuating intergenerational cycles of poverty (Amrutha et al., 2026).

In rural agricultural settings, particularly within developing nations like Indonesia, the persistence of childhood stunting is exacerbated by systemic dietary monotony, entrenched socioeconomic constraints, and a severe lack of access to commercially fortified therapeutic foods (Yusriadi et al., 2024). Although these regions often produce abundant agricultural output, translating this availability into adequate child nutrition is frequently hindered by suboptimal infant and young child feeding practices, limited household purchasing power, and inadequate nutritional literacy among primary caregivers (Fikadu et al., 2025).

Nutrition-sensitive agricultural interventions utilizing locally available, nutrient-dense food commodities have emerged as a sustainable and culturally acceptable strategy to ameliorate pediatric undernutrition (Kunlere, 2025). Shifting the public health paradigm away from imported or commercial supplements toward indigenous crops significantly enhances intervention accessibility while reducing logistical and financial barriers (Sanni, 2025). This localized approach actively promotes community food self-sufficiency and fosters long-term economic resilience within vulnerable regions (Sholeh et al., 2026).

Within this innovative framework, the synergistic combination of corn and mung beans presents a highly viable macronutrient and micronutrient profile specifically tailored for pediatric catch-up growth (Nasution et al., 2023). Corn serves as a critical source of complex carbohydrates, providing the dense caloric energy required to sustain basal metabolism and support daily physical activity (Winarti et al., 2023). Mung beans offer a robust concentration of high-quality plant-based protein, dietary fiber, and essential micronutrients, including iron, zinc, calcium, and B-complex vitamins, which are fundamental for cellular repair, muscle synthesis, and optimal metabolic regulation in developing toddlers (Malakiano et al., 2025).

Although traditional high-energy, high-protein supplementary foods like Modisco (Modified Dietetic Skimmed Milk and Cottonseed Oil) demonstrate established clinical efficacy in child nutritional rehabilitation, their current formulations predominantly rely on expensive, commercially processed ingredients (Ersila et al., 2025). This reliance creates significant barriers, making commercial products economically unviable or entirely inaccessible to vulnerable households in resource-constrained rural communities (Ramlan et al., 2025). A critical research gap exists regarding the clinical effectiveness, household affordability, and practical feasibility of developing locally adapted, agriculture-based Modisco variants to address these specific nutritional deficits.

To address this critical knowledge gap, the present study aimed to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of a modified Modisco flour, formulated exclusively from locally sourced corn and mung beans, on short-term body weight gain among toddlers at risk of stunting in Pager Village, Pasuruan Regency, Indonesia. The urgency of this research lies in its potential to generate robust empirical evidence for scalable, community-owned nutritional interventions. By validating a locally derived supplementary feeding model, this study aims to inform the broader integration of nutrition-sensitive agriculture into national stunting-reduction policies (Warner et al., 2023). This approach aims to reduce systemic dependency on external aid while fostering sustainable, long-term improvements in early childhood health outcomes across similar agricultural landscapes globally.

The primary finding of this study demonstrates that a 30-day supplementation of modified Modisco flour, formulated from locally sourced corn and mung beans, significantly enhances body weight gain among toddlers at risk of stunting in a rural agricultural setting. Toddlers receiving the intervention exhibited substantially greater mean weight gain compared to the control group, which received only standard nutritional monitoring. These results underscore that targeted, food-based supplementary feeding can effectively ameliorate short-term nutritional deficits and promote catch-up growth in vulnerable pediatric populations (Ow et al., 2024). By demonstrating measurable anthropometric improvements within a brief timeframe, this study validates the potential of localized nutritional strategies as a viable adjunct to routine community health services for mitigating early childhood undernutrition.

The observed anthropometric improvements are primarily attributable to the synergistic macronutrient and micronutrient profile of the modified Modisco formulation. Corn is a dense source of complex carbohydrates, providing sustained caloric intake necessary for daily energy metabolism and basal physiological functions (Baranowska, 2023). Concurrently, mung beans supply high-quality plant-based protein alongside critical micronutrients, including iron, zinc, calcium, and B-complex vitamins, which are fundamental for cellular metabolism and tissue development (Kim et al., 2025). Physiologically, this balanced protein-energy ratio is crucial; adequate caloric availability prevents the catabolism of dietary protein for energy, thereby exerting a protein-sparing effect that directs amino acids toward muscle synthesis, tissue repair, and growth hormone-mediated development. Given that nutritional deficiencies during the first 1,000 days of life can irreversibly disrupt immune function and neurodevelopment, ensuring optimal nutrient density during this critical window is paramount for preventing persistent growth faltering (Saavedra & Dattilo, 2022).

When contextualized within the existing literature, the present findings corroborate the efficacy of high-energy, high-protein supplementary feeding interventions and offer a distinct methodological advancement in ingredient sourcing. Previous studies evaluating Modisco or similar supplementary foods have predominantly relied on commercially processed or fortified ingredients, which are often cost-prohibitive and logistically challenging to distribute in low-resource settings. By substituting these with indigenous agricultural commodities, this study aligns with recent global health paradigms advocating for nutrition-sensitive agriculture (Seay-Fleming, 2025). Similar local food-based interventions in other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have successfully improved anthropometric indicators, reinforcing the notion that leveraging regional crop diversity is a scientifically sound and culturally appropriate strategy for addressing child undernutrition.

Beyond nutritional composition, the intervention's success was likely mediated by favorable contextual and behavioral factors inherent to the study setting. Pager Village's robust agricultural landscape ensures high availability and cultural familiarity with corn and mung beans, thereby boosting caregiver acceptance and adherence to the feeding protocol. The structured support system, characterized by regular monitoring from both researchers and local Integrated Health Post cadres, reinforced compliance and provided immediate troubleshooting for caregivers. This underscores a critical principle in public health nutrition: the efficacy of community-based interventions is inextricably linked to caregiver engagement, cultural acceptability, and the seamless integration of the program into existing local health infrastructure (Yusriadi et al., 2024).

The implications of these findings extend beyond individual clinical outcomes, offering a scalable model for public health strategies to mitigate stunting in resource-constrained environments. In Indonesia and similar LMICs, rural communities continue to face persistent challenges in dietary diversity and socioeconomic barriers, despite broader national improvements in stunting prevalence (Islam et al., 2025; Shofa et al., 2024). Utilizing locally available crops reduces supply chain dependencies, lowers economic barriers for households, and simultaneously stimulates local agricultural economies (Alawode, 2025). This approach champions a sustainable, community-owned model of nutrition-sensitive intervention that can be seamlessly integrated into national integrated health post frameworks, thereby reducing reliance on externally sourced, commercially manufactured therapeutic foods.

Despite these promising outcomes, several methodological limitations must be acknowledged when interpreting the generalizability and long-term validity of these findings. First, the 30-day intervention duration captures only acute changes in ponderal measures (body weight). It fails to assess chronic growth metrics, such as height-for-age Z-scores (HAZ), which remain the definitive clinical markers for stunting reversal. Second, the relatively small sample size and the use of purposive sampling within a single village introduce selection bias and heighten the risk of information contamination between the intervention and control groups through community networks. Third, the lack of comprehensive monitoring of background dietary intake, coupled with unmeasured confounders such as subclinical infections, household sanitation conditions, and socioeconomic fluctuations, may have independently influenced the children's growth trajectories during the study period.

To address these limitations and solidify the evidence base, future research must prioritize longitudinal, large-scale, and economically rigorous study designs. Subsequent investigations should employ randomized controlled trials with extended follow-up periods, ideally spanning 6 to 12 months, to evaluate the sustained effects of this intervention on linear growth, body composition, and cognitive development. Additionally, incorporating formal cost-effectiveness analyses and implementation science frameworks will be crucial to determine the economic sustainability, household affordability, and large-scale feasibility of this local food-based intervention (Burger et al., 2025). Only through such rigorous evaluation can this promising community-level strategy be confidently recommended for broader national policy adoption and integration into standardized pediatric nutritional guidelines.

This study demonstrates that a supplementary feeding intervention utilizing modified Modisco flour, formulated from locally sourced corn and mung beans, significantly enhances body weight gain among toddlers at risk of stunting in rural agricultural settings. By providing a nutrient-dense, culturally acceptable, and economically viable alternative to commercial supplements, this localized approach offers a practical strategy to improve energy and protein intake within community-based nutritional programs. These findings must be interpreted with caution due to methodological constraints, including a small, non-randomized sample, a brief intervention duration, the absence of linear growth assessments, and unmonitored confounding variables such as background dietary intake and environmental factors. Future research should prioritize large-scale, randomized controlled trials with extended follow-up to evaluate long-term anthropometric outcomes, while also incorporating comprehensive assessments of sensory acceptability, caregiver adherence, and implementation feasibility to inform the broader integration of locally derived interventions into national stunting-reduction policies.