Odisha: Home chefs team up to provide food to virus-hit

BHUBANESWAR: With the number of Covid cases on the rise, and a large number of them in home isolation, several good Samaritans have come forward to provide home cooked meal for them, free of cost.
Tapas Kumar Panda, an associate professor of MBA at Utkal University and his wife Rajashree, a teacher, had started cooking food and delivering it to a few friends and relatives after they got infected and were in home quarantine. Later, they posted messages promising free food for Covid infected on social media and they started getting more and more requests. These days they are delivering over 400 food packets per day. In the past one month around 20 home chefs have joined hands with the Pandas and formed the group ‘Ek Aur Roti’.
“It was not planned. We started sending out food for a few friends and relatives. After a few days the number of requests started growing. Initially it was difficult to manage as the numbers surged. My wife cooks, my children packs them and I deliver the packets to people who are in home quarantine,” Tapas said. He said after more people joined the initiative, they divided the regions to provide food. The food served is simple, rice, dal, bhaja, santula and salad.
Sneha Senapati, a Mumbai-based corporate employee who is back home in Bhubaneswar and working from home, is providing home-cooked meals to 15 people every day.
“I love to cook and I thought I could help a few in need with my limited ability. I joined the portal ‘Covid Meals in India’ and took requests to provide 15 meals every day, which I manage myself. I charge a nominal Rs 50 so that I can feed some needy people on the streets with that amount,” said Sneha.
When the second wave hit Captain Duryodhan Tarai’s plan to start a low-cost canteen, he decided to use the resources to serve food to Covid patients. “On Wednesday we served 226 packets of food. We are requesting people for an RT-PCR reports but if needed we are also giving food to the whole family,” said Biswajeet Sundaray, a banker who is associated with this initiative.