Citizen groups are doing their bit to address the rising demand for food among the poor, homeless and other groups in the city.
There are several NGOs and hotels making and delivering food. They are catering to different areas.
Kunal Rao Kamle of The Helping Hands said that his is a charity that has been providing food to the homeless for over a decade now. The NGO was started by his father and the family runs it with the involvement and help from a few others.
It also collects unused food from party halls.
During the first wave of the pandemic, the NGO gave away over 125 meals per day, mostly to home isolated patients. The food is cooked by the Kamle family members. The service is free.
Akhil Bharatiya Marwadi Yuva Manch has begun door delivery to patients. This is a fresh initiative and serves up to 75 packets twice daily. It has a central kitchen and a few delivery boys. Each meal is priced ₹50.
Mandar Kolhapure, who runs a food website Belgaum Foodies, and Rajeev Wadhwa, proprietor of The Hidden Door, a hotel, have started providing food packets to those under quarantine. Lunch and dinner are charged at nominal prices. The two have sought the advice of physician Madhav Prabhu, who has had experience in treating COVID-19 patients, to prepare a simple and healthy meal package.
“Many NGOs and social businesses are working in this sector. We plan to bring them together on a common platform. We are working to prepare a database of various hotels, mess, Ghar gutti (home-made meal) units and SHG members who can prepare meals at home or deliver,’’ said Kiran Nippanikar, a hotelier and NGO member, who is coordinating some of these efforts. He plans to promote a plan in which food is delivered in a decentralised manner, with multiple kitchens in different areas catering to those nearest to them.
Mohsin Dalayat, a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, said they had prepared a data base of charities who were providing food to the needy during lockdown. Among those are foundations such as Al Iqra and the Dargah committee. “We are developing a web page to provide all this data at one place and connect it to a helpline,” Mr. Dalayat said.
