Women receiving vocational training at an NGO have been cooking up a storm every Saturday morning, to feed wholesome food for free to impoverished locals who go hungry all week
A brand new board in Vashi Sector XI reads ‘Khichdi Ghar Saturday 11 am’, announcing the hour of a weekly treat given to those in the area who cannot afford nutritious meals throughout the week.
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Kalpana Baniya (standing), who receives vocational training at TKF, is part of the group of women who cook and serve the free meals
The long winding queues that have started forming at the designated hour every weekend attest to the popularity of this unique kitchen that aims to provide at least one good meal a week to anyone visiting the community centre at the hour.
The board that announces the timing and day of the weekly meal
The initiative was kickstarted a month ago, by a group of underprivileged but empowered women who receive vocational training at an NGO called The Kanchan Foundation (TKF). The trainees spotted some kids digging in the trash nearby, looking for food.
Kanchan Todi Roy, trustee of TKF, said, “We invited these kids to our centre and gave them some food. The women at my vocational centre asked if they could feed famished people in the area at least once a week. I thought it was a great idea.
From the next week, we started seeing more such workers, street dwellers outside our centre, hoping for some food. We decided to put up a board so that the people know exactly at what time to come in order to have their fill.”
The turnout was so huge last Saturday, that the women had to cook twice. Kalpana Baniya, from Juhu Gaon in Vashi, who cooks the meals, said, “It gives us great joy to prepare food and serve them. We understand their need to eat something that is wholesome and hygienic.
Many of them cannot afford nutritious meals, and perhaps that is why the numbers are increasing every week.” There is more help on the way. The NGO recently received an enquiry from one of the local residents, who is interested in being a sponsor of the meal that will be served this Saturday.
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