On World Food Day today, you can pledge a meal by joining these hunger warriors who make sure that no one sleeps on an empty stomach
A community kitchen in Kurla East provides food to around 500 people every day. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Khaana Chahiye Foundation
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An impact organisation working towards Sustainable Development Goal-2: Zero Hunger in the Mumbai metropolitan region, Khaana Chahiye started as a citizen’s collective crowdfunding and volunteer-driven relief operations during the lockdown. Now, they support two community kitchens—one in Ulhasnagar run by a transgender collective, and the other in Kurla managed by a women’s self-help group. These kitchens feed daily wage workers, the specially-abled, destitute, unemployed, and people living with HIV. They also support Bal Jeevan, a daycare for underprivileged students; and Gharkul, a daycare for specially-abled children. Co-founder Swaraj Shetty says, “We also support SOS requests sent on our WhatsApp chatbot.”
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How you can help:
>> If you know any family in need of grocery support, send a text through WhatsApp chatbot bit.ly/kcreporthunger or message on 7669800470
>> Donate at our community kitchens through bit.ly/donateforkc
Akshaya Chaitanya
An initiative by Hare Krishna Movement, the idea is to eradicate hunger among the underprivileged in urban areas. “It’s a challenge to set up any initiative in Mumbai. The costs run through the roof and approvals are most arduous,” says the programme’s servant leader, Vikas Parchannda. Their well-designed set-up, modern equipment and highly skilled staff cooks for 25,000 hearty eaters. They have stringent quality, nutrition and hygiene standards. The organisation also runs Bal Shiksha Ahara, a breakfast programme that serves nearly 6,000 children in 53 municipal schools in Byculla; Swasthya Ahara, which sets the plate for over 2,500 caregivers and families of those lodged in six government hospitals; and Paushtik Ahara, a lunch programme for more than 500 migrant children in three slums—Jogeshwari, Goregaon and Poisar.
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How you can help:
>> Adopt an initiative for a specified period
>> Donate ingredients in bulk at akshayachaitanya.org
Mumbai Roti Bank
A team of dabbawalas deliver food left over from weddings to the needy
In 2015, when the dabbawalas were invited to inaugurate a wedding festival in Goregaon, an idea struck them. Today, a team of 400 dabbawalas deliver food left over from weddings to the needy. They cover Grant Road, Vikhroli, Andheri, Mulund and Byculla. In the past, they have also delivered rations through floods and COVID-19 led pandemic. If you have food leftover from any social event, dial the helpline and it will be collected.
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How you can help:
>> If you have enough food to serve at least 20 to 25 people, call 8652760542, 8369854313. The nearest dabbawala will come collect the food between 6 pm and 8 pm, and reach the deserving by 9 pm.
Roti Foundation
An elderly woman receives food from Roti Foundation, a hunger relief organisation started under the mentorship of former state Director General of Police D Sivanandhan
This non-profit, hunger relief organisation was started in December 2017 under the mentorship of former state Director General of Police D Sivanandhan. The initial objective was to reduce the gap between hunger and excess food, and they would pick up extra food from events, hotels, cafeterias, and housing societies, and deliver it to slums and pavement dwellers. In January 2020, they started their own kitchen, and initiated new chapters in Nagpur, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Cuttack. They provide a simple meal of dal-rice, roti, subzi, and sometimes fruit or sweet to schools, destitute homes, educational institutions, cancer centres, slums and to relatives of those admitted in hospitals.
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How you can help:
>> Donate on rotibankfoundation.org
>> Call to volunteer 8655580001
Robin Hood Army
Modelled on Portugal’s Re-Food programme, this volunteer-based initiative started on the streets of Delhi in August 2014. It now has city-wise chapters that you can reach out to through their Facebook page. They have just one rule: They are a zero-funds organisation and have no revenue, employees, or office space. All they need is your time to pickup, deliver or conduct drives in various part of the city.
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How you can help:
>> Volunteer three hours/week at least twice a month to distribute food
>> Donate food as an organisation or individual
>> Teach language, arts and skills to underprivileged children
Fact Box
Food being prepared at Akshaya Chaitanya Kitchen in Byculla, which serves 25,000 people. Pic/Sameer Markande
>> Hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and terrorism combined—every 10 seconds, a child dies from hunger
>> 82% of hungry people live in countries with food surpluses, not food shortage
>> One in every eight people sleeps hungry each night
>> One-third of the food produced around the world is never consumed
>> There are 850 million hungry people in the world
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