The NGO has tied up with various agencies to serve excess food
Ankit Kawatra quit his management job and took an uncharted course which many would not have dared to. He embarked on an unplanned journey to provide food to underprivileged and hungry people. The last thing on his mind when he started his journey was a nomination for Young Leaders selected by the United Nations to meet their Sustainable Development Goals. He is proud that his name figured among the 17 youth this year.
Kawatra, who was selected from 18,000 nominations received from 186 countries, started the NGO Feeding India two years back with a vision to distribute excess and leftover food from the Big Fat Indian weddings, events and 5-star hotels to solve the problem of hunger and malnutrition in the country.
The idea struck him, when he was invited to one such wedding, where he saw a variety of leftover food, which could have easily served 5,000 people in a single night, was thrown directly in the bin.
Working on a hyper-local donation system, Feeding India divides each city into various regions. The operations include three stakeholders--the donor, the shelter home on the beneficiary end and the volunteer conducting the activity. “As soon as we receive a call from an individual, caterer, restaurant, corporate owner or any stakeholder organising an event with an estimated excess food for 50 people, the nearest volunteer or “Hunger Hero” is contacted to deliver the food to the shelter home.
“The volunteer reaches the destination, inspects the quality of food, loads it on the vehicle and transports it to shelter homes depending upon the need of the people staying there,” said the founder of Feeding India.
Keeping in view the health of the people, spicy food is not delivered to the shelter homes of old people. Similarly, food with nutritious value is donated to schools and NGOs which have students from the slum and government schools.
One such NGO where Feeding India extends its services is Unnati which runs evening schools for students from slums, students from government schools and vocational training for girls. “Our main concern has been hygienic food and this demand has been met by Feeding India. We are getting food from here since the past one year and never have we found that the food is inedible. We smell and taste the food before giving it to children.
“Also food with nutritious value comes for the students of the slum who otherwise could not have afforded it. These include rice, dal, chapattis, paneer, salad, raita for the main course along with Kulcha, Golgappas, cakes and juices in snacks,” said Monika, Centre Co-ordinator of Unnati NGO.
The initiative has received positive response from students who have been enjoying the food from Monday to Friday. “We are very fortunate that we are eating this kind of food which otherwise we could not have afforded. The food is clean and we have had no complaint of food poisoning in summer,” said Raj, a student at the Unnati NGO.
The co-ordinator at this evening school claims that the number of students has increased after they started food with less students opting to migrate to other schools.
“The nutritious and a variety of food brightens the faces of the students, especially those from government schools who are bored of having the same porridge every day,” Monika added.
“I love the food that Feeding India serves us. My school is very small and not recognised by the government. So we never used to get mid-day meals. There are many girls like me here whose parents are not very fond of the idea of going to school. But since the time Feeding India started serving us lunch and snacks daily basis, I have not faced any resistance from them. Over the last few months I have seen so many girls joining the school just because we get nutritious meals. The food keeps us energetic throughout the day and we can study without getting tired,” eight-year-old Sushila, another student from the same NGO, said.
A few NGOs and shelter homes that Feeding India helps include Maxvision Society, Khushi Rainbow Home for Girls, Kilkari Rainbow Home for Girls, Ummeed Aman Ghar for Boys to name a few.
“I remember an incident when I went to an old man who was around 70 years and was sleeping near a metro station. I went to him and gave him a plate full of rice and he was so glad to see the food that he held my hand like a child and told me that he has been looking for it since morning but had lost hope and was trying to sleep. That was a memorable experience in my life,” said Prakhar, Feeding India’s Hunger Hero.
Feeding India has partnership only with shelter homes which are open 24X7 so that they can donate the food at odd hours after collecting it from wedding functions.
The undelivered food is stored in cold storage units to prevent it from going bad. This youth-run not-for-profit organisation claims to have created awareness on the issue of food wastage and hunger in the country. The NGO is informed about the event dates well in advance on their helpline numbers, via mobile application or an email.
“We have also partnered with many leading event planners and wedding organisers who encourage their clients to not waste food and call us for their parties. Some of these online websites include Weddingz.in, Wedmegood, Venuemonk, etc., said Kawatra.
The NGO has its operations in 28 places, including all the metropolitan cities with over 2,000 well-trained volunteers. It has also received volunteering request from many other countries.
Asked about their preparations for the coming wedding season, Kawatra says they have started a pilot project in Delhi with a rented vehicle which would move around the city collecting and distributing excess food from weddings. Kawatra has partnered with corporate offices, caterers, restaurants, event organisers for regular supply of excess food.
“We have partnered with restaurants/hotels--excess leftover food on fixed days of the week. Corporate offices donate excess food every day after lunch and dinner buffet in the cafeterias. We have collaborated with many 5-star hotels from where we pick-up food on a regular basis. One of these includes JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar which is our regular donor,” said Kawatra.
The NGO claims to have picked up food from over 600 weddings last year across India, including the celebrity marriage of TV actress Sukhmani Sadana in Jaipur last year.
Kawatra received global recognition for his leadership and contribution to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Goals to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice by 2030.