NGO to distribute over 10 million meals to needy

An NGO will distribute 10.7 million meals across nine cities in India to people who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Delhi-based NGO, Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS), in partnership with Honeywell will distribute food kits to the most vulnerable communities including daily wagers, contract workers, and a migrant population who have been displaced because of the lockdown.

While phase-1 of the distribution drive provided around "3.7 million meals" across five cities, in phase-2, the initiative aims to provide an additional 10 million meals across nine cities: Delhi, Gurugram, Bengaluru, Pune, Madurai, Haridwar, Dehradun, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Cumulatively, this multi-city outreach will cover 1.78 lakh people, the NGO said in a statement.

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According to the NGO, the outpouring of support for the displaced and marginalized during the lockdown days have come down significantly since the country began to restart and reopen. However, large swathes of the population – especially among migrant workers – continues to suffer from job losses and depleted savings.

"We are committed to reaching out to the bottom 1 per cent most vulnerable communities during any crisis. Though the country is currently under the unlock phase, there are still communities struggling against daily hardships. SEEDS continues to reach out to such communities for the sixth month running and is committed to carry out its support work until they can safely come out of the current crisis," said Manu Gupta, co-founder, SEEDS.

Each food kit comprises rice, wheat flour, sugar, pulses, cooking oil, and salt. SEEDS, over the coming weeks, will engage with social volunteers and government officials to undertake the distribution drive.