Minister for Finance T.M. Thomas Isaac’s announcement in the Budget that Kudumbashree will start 1,000 hunger-free hotel initiatives to provide food at a fair rate of ₹25 is inspired by the success of similar initiatives in Alappuzha.
At Pathirapally in Mararikulam South panchayat stands a roadside hotel Snehajalakam where anyone can eat food three times a day. At the end, they can drop any money they feel inclined to in a box at the counter or even not.
This is not the only novel thing about Snehajalakam. Food for 450-odd bedridden and palliative care patients in nearby panchayats gets made here and is delivered every morning. The food is sufficient for two meals. The dirty casseroles are brought to the hotel and cleaned and made ready for the next day. Funding for this initiative, under way for the past seven years, is raised through public sponsorship of food for the beneficiaries in connection with special events such as birthdays or anniversaries of the sponsors. This is done every day, without any break.
The hotel also takes up outdoor catering of conferences and small functions such as engagements and the income from it is used for funding the free hotel initiative and food for bedridden patients.
Many also reach out for sponsoring food for a specific number of people through their website and other sources without being aware of the help extended for the bedridden patients. Money transaction is through bank accounts.
Another interesting model is a people’s kitchen near Mararikulam Junction which supplies food for 600 people under Snehajalakam. At their hotel, food is served for a reasonable ₹25.
In Cherthala town, there is another venture that supplies cooked food to bedridden patients.
From a kitchen that began in the backyard of a house to a well-established network, Snehajalakam has come a long way. Kudumbashree with its vast network enjoys a definite advantage when it comes to implementing a similar initiative as part of the hunger-free project of the State government.