Now, 'Udupi Helpline' to cater to hungry

A group of youth have come up with an innovative idea of serving the needy with the excess food prepared during social events and functions under the initiative 'Udupi Helpline.'

Speaking after inaugurating the Helpline, the Congress leader Amrith Shenoy said the team would collect the excess food prepared at marriage halls and other functions and distribute the same to the needy.

A group of five people--Mahesh Poojary, Rafiq Kallianpura, Shanawaz Honnala, Safan Udupi and Anitha D'Souza have joined hands to serve the needy with the food which is treated as waste.

The team, prior to the official launch of the initiative, has already fed about 2,000 people in the past two months in the three taluks of the district.

Safan said that the donations were expected to make the programme more effective. "The food items will be packed hygienically and dispatched to those areas where there is demand for food."

He added that there is need for utensils, vehicle and refrigerators to store, transport and preserve the food. "It is the initiative taken to satisfy the hungry stomachs."

Speaking on the occasion, BJP district president Mattar Ratnakar Hegde said that the project initiators should be very careful about the hygiene of the food. "It should be preserved properly and the spoiled food items should not be distributed."

Congress president Janardhan Those lauded the project and added that people should come forward to support such ventures.