These Hunger Heroes Are Feeding The Poor And Hungry In Delhi Amid The COVID-19 Lockdown

Times of crisis, it is said, brings out the best in us. As India goes through the world's biggest lock down, every day people are turning into real life heroes. Heroes who are ensuring that lakhs of poor, migrant labourers get food as they walk home very often crossing as many as 2-3 states, over many days.   

A Delhi based bakery kitchen, where breads, cakes and muffins were being baked till about 10 days back, is now being used to cook food for the community. An initiative that started with distribution of bread, Mrs Kaurs community kitchen is now preparing 10,000 meals daily for those who need it the most. Preet Saini, Founder of Mrs Kaur's Bakery told NDTV,

We decided to make bread and give it to the ones who needed it but in the meantime we got in touch with Dilli Langar Seva Society and with their help we got the necessary permissions. There were a lot of people we were reaching out to and we started making daal and the roti that comes from Dilli Langar Seva Society.

Volunteers from various Government bodies come to the bakery-turned-community kitchen to collect the food to make sure it reaches the poor and the hungry. Pawan Sharma, a volunteer who comes to pick food daily told NDTV,

We take food from here daily and there are so many people waiting eagerly to eat. It a good feeling that I, in some way, can help feeding people in these trying times.

In Gurgaon, a young couple Ambika and Arjun Pandey who recently started a catering business are now using their commercial kitchen to feed hundreds in the slum clusters of the city. Janta Rasoi, joins the community initiative to feed many, wit hygiene being of utmost importance. Arjun Pandey, Co-founder, Janta Rasoi shared,  

My wife has a cloud kitchen called Shanghai Surprise. We scaled up from 180 meals a day to 1,600 meals a day. We felt that in a simple meal like Khichdi, you have a combination of rice, daal, vegetables, turmeric, all of which adds some nutrition value to the meal.

All around the country, individuals and organisations are coming together to help. For Janta Rasoi and Mrs Kaur's Bakery, friends and families have come forward, helped and contributed in huge numbers to support the mission. It is indeed, India coming together to fight the novel coronavirus.