Goodwill Brewing
A Recipe for Compassionate Cooking & Service with Dignity
The most devastating impact of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown has been on rising poverty and the crippling hunger that accompanies it. While the government vowed to deliver cooked food and ration to languishing families, it was everyday individuals and civil society groups that took the lead in cooking and feeding people with love and dignity.
The year 2020, has, therefore, (also) been a year of uplifting stories from the community. It has been all at once, a year of contradictions. Eating, the foundation of human survival, became an immediate concern of the pandemic. It became both a comfort as well as an anxiety for people at diverse ends of society. Some craved (and received) comfort in flavours and density of fats and micronutrients. Others foraged for the bare minimum. Bakers abounded and social media doled out tips on baking. Some dove into growing edibles at home and tips for that too were generously forthcoming. Others stepped out with risks (instead of waiting for scarce government doles) to get to the sources of food – at Gurdwaras, community centres, makeshift food stalls, empty school spaces.
Following the trail of hungry people who went looking for life-sustaining food, there were, at the end of those trails, many citizens who stepped up to make food available. For anyone who needs it. Turns out, there were too many. And the sheer will of some people to do the needful – to gather provisions, cook the food, deliver/organize the feeding in the middle of an ongoing pandemic, raise funds to do all of this – is empowering in a quiet way.
Note, these people ended up doing what the government struggled to do. And that is where the heart of the story is. As to why the hungry hordes sought out these distribution centres instead of government food centres. And the answer we discovered was staring at our faces. Compassion.
More than hunger, it is dignity that humans crave. A common thread that runs through each of our stories is that of kindness in saving lives. A sense of respect that was delivered along with the plates and boxes of food. Sure, the act of giving was a source of comfort for those who have done these stellar services. But the act of delivering with empathy was their choice. A conscious decision to serve those who are less privileged, both in money and knowledge to cope, with attention to basic human dignity that all deserve. Through the eyes of the many stories of community service, here are the core ingredients that make for great Compassionate Cooking.
The Essential Ingredients for Cooking with Compassion
Lekha Roy, a resident of South Delhi made nutritious, home-cooked meals for migrant labourers near her house. Highly conscious of the environment, she did not use non-biodegradable containers to pack the food.
Made With Love, The Secret Element To All Great Dishes
A resident of South Delhi, Lekha Roy did what she could, to feed and support vulnerable groups with love, when opportunities came along. Labourers working on construction sites were a common scene in Lekha's colony. One day, after seeing them take shelter in a site, she decided to talk to them. They were stranded in the lockdown. Lekha took it upon herself to feed these sixteen migrant labourers. The families had hardly any cooking material with them, so she gave them a cooked meal at midday and enough snacks for the rest of the day. She also gave them money to buy rice and soaps. She bought sattu (roasted gram flour powder) packets, mixed in brown sugar, ginger powder, jeera (cumin) powder, black pepper, black salt, aamchoor (dry mango powder), and prepared a protein-rich, cooling drink for them. She gave them roasted chana (bengal gram), peanuts, and often added a tamarind chutney, lemons, onions, and pappadam. Lekha says, "I wanted them to know that the food was given with love and not just for the sake of it. I cooked exactly the way I cook for my family. I knew they needed a nutritious diet so I gave them rajma (beans curry) and matar-paneer (peas with cottage cheese), whole moong and masoor dal (lentils) I made sure the gravy was thick; the more watery it is, the lesser is the nutrition and heavier the vessels. I also cooked fish/chicken/egg curry on rotation to give them sufficient protein." Highly conscious of the environment, she did not use non-biodegradable containers to pack the food.
When a friend of hers told her about a group of hungry children in the area, Lekha organised sweet buns for them from her local grocer. She had no help in the cooking and distribution. She did it on her own, every day for two weeks. While her children were scared that her relief work could expose her to the virus, Lekha explains how doing this was the only way to deal with the pain of seeing others struggle. She would earlier give money to a local banana seller and ask him to feed other hungry people with that money "I try to make people understand that they are also part of the process and that they can and should help others"
‘Khichdi' (polenta/stew) mixed with rice, daal (lentil), and vegetables - a simple but an extremely nutritious meal was served by Janta Rasoi.
Nourishing, Because That's What Food Is About
Owner of Shanghai Surprise, a cloud restaurant and other co-working cafes in Gurgaon, Arjun Pandey realised that in these uncertain times, the simplest thing he could do was to draw on his experience to cook for the hungry. He shares, "The abject hunger in Gurgaon was bothering me. I heard about a case where a guy sold his phone to get Rs.1000, left it at home so his family could buy rations and then took his life. That hurt and pained me. I don't want to see that happen again." While his restaurants had shut down by February end, Arjun along with his wife Ambika Kapoor and seven more friends started the 'Janta Rasoi' (People's Kitchen). Teaming up with the Gurgaon Civil Defense and community volunteers they distributed daily close to 3,000 meals and dry ration kits in their area. Apart from this kitchen, they provided 800 meals in Nathpur, Bengali Basti, and Havan mandir, which had migrant families and rag pickers with no current means of income. In July, the Bengali Basti, a community of 1500 people, was declared a containment zone. In such cases, when one area shuts down, their distribution would change overnight for other emergency responses like catering to stranded construction workers who had to travel interstate during the lockdown.
More importantly, Arjun insisted, the meal had to be nutritious, full of proteins. He says, "If you were to use maida (flour), I mean sure it fills you up but is it giving you the required nutrition? And from a logistics point of view, it just increases the workload to provide multiple items." And so, for the next five months, their menu consisted of 'khichdi' (polenta/stew) mixed with rice, daal (lentil), and vegetables. Initially, the main distribution point was their kitchen, where people picked up their meals. But soon the numbers swelled from 300 to 600, and it became difficult to control a large group. They then decided to put the meals on a table outside. He explains, "I liked this for two reasons. The first was because it dissociates the giver from the act of giving and the receiver from the act of receiving. It ensures a lot more dignity to them as they're now coming and taking their meal and taking as much as they needed. Second, the reduction in the scope of contamination as there was no point of contact."
Putting the meals on a table instead of handing it over dissociates the giver from the act of giving and the receiver from the act of receiving. It ensures a lot more dignity to them and also reduces the scope of contamination.
He credits the initiative to committed teammates and community volunteers, many of whom worked nonstop throughout the first three months of lockdown, cooking from 5:00 to 11:00 p.m. every day. The Janta Rasoi also provided some livelihood to cooks and volunteers who had nowhere else to go. Arjun himself had felt inspired by groups like the Civil Defense, the Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch, Gurudwaras, all committed to cooking, distributing, and feeding people in Gurgaon. He spoke of many individuals - a group of income tax officers who brought in rations, someone in the judiciary who sent vegetables, a police officer who sent rations and helped struggling migrants get travel passes; and when they needed vessels to cook for a 1000 people, a Gurudwara helped them out. One man, who runs a rental service and van, helped them with food distribution. He felt people just outgrew their fears of getting infected. Janta Rasoi kept up their compassionate feeding for almost ten months, despite their own business taking a hit during the lockdown. Arjun shares, “I think the role of any business is to provide value in society. It’s the bare minimum that we can do. In terms of corporate or businesses, small and family run, they are all about society and societal value.”
‘Two Meals Extra' , a novel initiative where ordinary families cooked a few meals extra and donated them for those who had limited or no access to food.
Just A Little Extra
Suffering from a painful cervical disorder, Navdeep Singh from Pune remained indoors when the lockdown hit. One day he saw a message online about a woman stranded in her Paying Guest accommodation and decided to help her get to the train station. On the return trip, he witnessed people sitting on the roadsides and found out they were hungry, unemployed, and cashless. He shares, "The next day was Ashtami (a Hindu festival with extensive cooking involved) and because of lockdown, everyone was indoors. I decided to ask the people who were going to prepare food, to give it to me instead. I also put up a message on the group chat. I received 50 packets of food. I was very happy. The next day, I asked again if anyone had extra food. Some people celebrate Ram Navami (the second day of the festival) and I got more food packets. I saw how people were ready to give food. At the same time, I started getting a lot of calls asking for food from unknown people. A teacher called me saying that children from slums who attend her school were very hungry. I started putting these messages in WhatsApp groups. I even said that I would provide the packing materials, to make it easy for them. A lot of people responded. Around a radius of 50 kilometres, 45 societies reached out to me saying that they're willing to provide about 20 to 30 packets. I went and dropped the packing materials. And that's how it started." Navdeep created 'Two Meals Extra', a novel initiative where ordinary families cooked a few meals extra and donated them for those who had limited or no access to food.
Gradually, by putting up messages for volunteers across social media, by the third week, they were distributing 2000 food packets a day in Bangalore, Delhi, Nasik, and Ahmedabad. They tried to identify slums and groups who were stranded and living on footpaths. They distributed 4000 meals in the Shramik (migrant special) trains and people sponsored drinking water, fruits, and biscuits to support them. Their network of volunteers, aged 19 to 60 years old, sustained the initiative. It was a decentralised system, where they mapped areas and residential societies of more than 300 flats, and took responsibility for collecting and storing the food at one place, to be distributed later. They garnered large scale support from people, as the very act of donating cooked food as opposed to dry ration or cash, made it simple and transparent. He says, "Wherever we have gone when we were told 20, we have gotten 30, and where we were told 200 we have even received 300 food packets." With the growing community spread of COVID-19, when distribution became a problem, they partnered with restaurants to donate meals to people at economical costs and encouraged donors to take up the pledge. Several beneficiaries, who were struggling, refused to accept 'charity' as it 'didn't feel dignified'. So, the team involved them in relief work. Auto drivers, people from different urban slums helped in collection and distribution in return for food. Roadside dhabas (food stalls) would happily cook small meals like 'poha' (puffed rice) when we provided rations. Navdeep feels many such local networks can be built to feed hungry people. "I was raised in a household where inadvertently extra food was cooked at all times. Why can't we just use that extra food to provide for someone hungry?"
'Neki Ka Pitara' (Box of Goodwill) - Fridges installed in hospitals ( a wonderful initiative by Khushroo Poacha) are always well-stocked with donated food.
Infuse The Brew With Goodwill And Patience
A civil servant from the Indian Railways, Khushroo Poacha, after a close personal brush with the pathetic condition of outpatients in hospitals, had started a crowd-funded voluntary initiative in 2014 called 'Seva Kitchen' ('service' kitchen) in Nagpur. They distribute meals to patients and their families in hospitals ,and milk to underprivileged children in centres and schools across the country. Later, they installed fridges stocked with donated food through their 'Neki Ka Pitara' (Box of Goodwill) initiative. When the lockdown hit, he was worried about the 'coolies' (porters) in the railway stations who would now be unemployed, the construction workers, the house help, cycle-rickshaw pullers; all severely impacted. So, he started a campaign on his existing website, where people could buy relief kits (that could help a family survive 15 days) for distribution. Within a few days, this became viral. He received kits worth Rs. 82 lakhs as people started donating from across the country. With the support of donors and well-wishers, they eventually started responding to requests from everywhere. "We got a request, from an activist in Pandav Keda who works for widows of farmers who committed suicide. He needed 1000 kits as a lot of people were going hungry. We managed to send 3000 kits and the news spread. It was circulated through multiple media outlets."
Upon receiving calls for food and transportation, Khushroo would simply post their locations on his Facebook handle, and the requests would get taken care of. He shared a story about a group of 400 families of bricklaying workers from Madhya Pradesh. They were provided with 10-12 kits daily and were helped to travel back home. One of the volunteers helped a pregnant lady from the group reach the local government hospital to deliver her baby safely. She named her child 'Seva' after the kitchen. There were many such instances of help pouring in and Khusroo felt immense gratitude and a deep connection with other people. On one occasion, when they were delivering food in the ‘migrants’ train, a donor gave him buttermilk and fruits worth Rs 8 lakh, to be distributed to the passengers. Another time, they were able to serve non-vegetarian dishes to 50 girls who had been rescued from trafficking, in Pune. Instead of vegetables and rice/roti (flatbread), they provided boiled egg biryani in most of their sea regions, catering to local food habits. He says, "We are not an NGO, there is no organisation, no bank account. We're a movement. I believe in crowd sourcing and motivating people to give in kind".
A Generous Amount Of Community Stock
Social activist Praveen and researcher Maria along with other comrades from the community, started running a community kitchen in Subhash camp settlement, close to a Muslim dominant rag pickers' settlement and the Railways tracks in North Delhi, where mostly informal workers live. In the early days of the pandemic, under the community initiative 'Mazdoor Dhaba' (Workers' Dhaba), it was one of the three kitchens running in North Delhi, to feed migrant families. In July, when the Mazdoor Dhaba was closed, they continued the relief work and became 'Mazdoor Pahal' (Workers' Initiative). They cooked and distributed food, as well as ration kits to families from Subhash camp, but also outside the community to the nearby rag pickers' settlements next to the railway track and urban forest area, Indira Colony settlement, Madipur settlement, Shivaji Park, Shakur Basti (cement siding workers), and homeless people living under the Punjabi Bagh flyovers.
Having worked in the community, Praveen already had strong local relationships. That helped him mobilise the people. The cooking and distribution networks were run by community volunteers including women and young people. The entire group came together to wash and chop vegetables, cook, clean the kitchen, pack, and distribute the food. Like many on the ground, the team had to respond to emergencies every day. During monsoons, there were two terrible storms, and many slum shelters got swept away. So, they procured and distributed tarpaulin sheets, bamboos, utensils, clothes, and gas cylinders. They went a step further to sanitise the four settlements, twice a week.
Working together, the community kitchen became a space of shared struggle and solidarity. Notwithstanding their poverty, there was a sense of 'giving' among the people in the slums, who wanted to help others, more marginalised than them. "This sense of responsibility and empathy in people who were being called 'freeloaders' by the mainstream media, stayed with me", shared Praveen. It was a 'melting pot', where people from different castes, classes, and religions, who might never have interacted with each other during everyday lives, got a chance to work side by side and build bonds.
Subhash camp settlement was one of the areas that got affected by communal violence during the infamous riots of February 2020, where lots of workers from here lost their jobs. Despite there being communal tensions, this model of 'democratised ownership' enabled everyone - Hindu and Muslim men, women, children, and elders to come together. They received support from varied people - a vendor who gave them cooking vessels for free, a Sikh gentleman who sanitised the slums for them. It was this kind of spontaneous compassion that became inspiring and kept the motivation high. The Mazdoor Pahal team wants to go beyond distributing food, to build a 'food cooperative' which is concrete, dignified, and sustainable. They are already in consultation with many actors in this field and trying to concretise this model of ‘workers cooperative kitchen’ in the industrial areas in Delhi.
Sauce Of Salvation In The Sauté
In March, Delhi University professor Nandita Narain and her husband Rashid Ansari, a martial arts instructor and performing arts practitioner-director, joined a collective of teachers in North Delhi to start 'Mazdoor Dhaba' (workers' café). It had 3 community kitchens running under its banner in North Delhi, from the garage of the Principal's house in St. Stephens College. Nandita shared, "I'd heard from many of my colleagues that this isn't something we, in the age of 60+ years, should be doing. But we felt that even if there is risk involved, we want to take that risk; after all, when there are wars, people who volunteer, go to the frontiers to support wounded and war-affected people. And if they can do that, then the risk is surely not greater for us." By July, the lockdown in Delhi had ended and many in the group felt the need to shift operations away from cooking to other relief work. But the couple decided to venture out independently and started 'Mazdoor Kitchen' (a citizen-run voluntary workers' kitchen) in Jawahar Nagar, as they felt there was still a need to support people with food and rations. Nandita explained that the areas they distributed in (slum colonies of Kingsway Camp, Pul Bangash, Bahadurgarh Road, Azad Market, Roop Nagar, and Patel Chest), had working-class people and migrants who had travelled back to the cities hunting for jobs and depended on that one meal a day that the kitchen provided. Between the two, Rashid looks after the buying of vegetables and other ingredients, supervising the cooking, volunteers, and packing. Nandita leads the distribution of food in colonies and runs an additional 'livelihood initiative'. Members of their community are made up of friends, students, artists, teachers, and other volunteers who take turns in running the operations. Every day, they feed up to 800 people in different communities and supply dry ration kits, blankets, and gas cylinders in the area.
Rashid takes us through his day at the kitchen. "Most days I'm coordinating online from home to make purchases. I reach the kitchen by 3:30 p.m. to prepare the meals. We calculate how many kilos of rice, vegetables, and spices will be needed and ensure no wastage. The meal could be whatever vegetables in season, a curry with rice, or pooris (Indian flatbread) with veggies or a vegetable pulao (rice). We keep rotating this menu daily so as to not make it monotonous for those receiving the meals. Volunteers come in later in the evening to pack the food. By 6:00 p.m. we finish off and a few of us go to distribute the food and kits." Since the lockdown ended, people have started earning a bit through work. But after paying for rent, electricity, medical services, and water, they have no money left for rations. The kitchen, therefore, still supports 50 families with ration kits twice a month and 800 others with a daily meal.
To support some of their unemployed volunteers, they started giving each of the eleven members a daily stipend for their work at the kitchen. Cooks, housewives, seamstresses, press wala (ironing person), vendors, and community caretakers, all became part of the team. For them, it wasn't just about food, but about interacting with communities, and supporting them in whatever way possible, so that they could get back on their feet in these devastating times.
Roshni for example had just left working for an abusive boss. Her family makes pots, pans, and toys of clay. With no scope of work during the pandemic, an ill husband, and teenage children to look after, Roshni chanced upon Mazdoor Kitchen and got involved. She works here four times a week and ensures all food is packed for distribution. She says, "Yahan bahut badiya laga, ek parivaar jaisa. Bol chaal mein bhi sab ache hain, pyaar se sab bolte hain, hasi mazak bhi chalta rehta hai. Kitchen mein cook ke sath baith ke baate bhi ho jati hain, ghar ke bare mein, bachon ke bare mein; acha lagta hai.” (It's just like family here; everyone speaks to each other with love and laughter. Sometimes we talk about our kids, our homes and it feels nice) Roshni has learnt from Rashid, how the food must be packed with tight knots and that nothing was to be wasted. "Jaise hum apne bachon ko khilate hain waise hee hum bahar walon ke liye bhi pack karte hain. Woh sab bhi toh hamare jaise insaan hain. Woh bhi toh bhooke pyaase hain. To pyaar se to karenge.“ (We feed them just like we feed our children. They're also human like us. They're also thirsty and hungry, so we must work with love.)
25-year-old Sagar, his wife Rhea, and his brother Sanath, all work in this kitchen as cooks. After dropping out of school at 11, Sagar had spent his adult years working odd jobs until he joined the Mazdoor Kitchen. He and his wife keep tabs on the rations and handle chopping of vegetables, cooking, washing dishes, packing, cleaning, and storing all kitchen items. He explains how the menu changes, as the idea is to give something different each day. "Har din ek hee cheez khaenge to bore bhi toh ho janege. Hum sab bhi sochte hain ki aj badiya cheez khaein, to kya unko nahi chahiye hoga? Unko bhi to acha khana milne ka hak hai. Khana se ek khushi milti hai. Agar who khush honge to hum bhi to honge ki humari mehnat safal hui.” (If they eat the same thing every day, they'll get bored! All of us also wish to eat good food, so why not them? They also have the right to good food. Food brings happiness. And if they are happy, we'll also feel satisfied on a job well done.) The food is tasted for quality before it goes in for packing and many members in the team take back cooked meals from the kitchen to their own homes. Thanks to his savings from the kitchen (Rs 1000 per day), Sagar has started a 'momo (dumplings) stall' in his neighbourhood, which he hopes to expand in the future.
Rashid explains the service philosophy. "The other day I had people take 2-3 meals from me; they sat on the pavement and ate those meals, telling me how hungry they were. We give the food packets to them in their hands and we ask them to take care. We give them as many meals as they ask for, as long as we have it. We try to ensure that everyone who's standing in the line gets food. I don't differentiate between a rag picker or a drunkard or someone who's dressed well. I don't question anyone; I just give them food." Often, he takes volunteers with him to the community, so they understand their position of privilege, the divide that exists in realities, and how every single person has a role to play in the collective. Despite their challenges of being short-staffed, juggling finances, and fundraising, they continue to give 400 meals a day. The group has also started a ‘livelihoods initiative’ , under which local community members have been making and distributing thousands of masks and other small vendors like balloon sellers and food carts have been able to restart business. Their relief work has included helping those struck by natural disasters with material or monetary support, supporting students from underprivileged communities pay their college fees, rickshaw pullers procure a new rickshaw if needed. They were overwhelmed with support from people and groups like Goonj, Ankit Jhamb of Aao Khilayein, the Robinhood Army, Touching lives, Sobha Singh Charitable Trust, Aman Biradri - helping with resources, cooked meals, and kits. Modelling themselves on the 'soup kitchens' and 'salvation army kitchens' in the West, they are determined to run the kitchen till April 2021 or even beyond if funds permit them.
Keep It Local And Inclusive Of Varied Flavours
Mumbai-based housing rights activist Bilal Khan (of Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan) had started getting panic calls from people in the slums, by early March. They were worried, with the extended lockdown, how they would earn and feed their families. Responding to their worries, Bilal, along with friends Lara Jesani (a human rights activist and lawyer) and Anil Hebbar (social entrepreneur), started an online fundraiser to crowd fund resources and distribution. Donors were encouraged to adopt communities. But soon the number of requests became too much and they needed to think of a cost-effective method which could also reach more people; and community kitchen was the answer. The first community kitchen they set up was in Ambujwadi slum with the help of the social activist, Akhilesh Rao. They set up five more kitchens in the city and provided more than one million meals in six months, plus reached out to one lakh individuals through the ration bags.
Bilal explains how these kitchens were established in communities he had worked in, and could only run, because of the ownership and enthusiasm of local volunteers. While Bilal and team helped the communities set up the kitchen with tents, vendors, gas, money, and resources, the actual running of the kitchens was led by the local community activists. Every kitchen gets feedback from the community, and the menu would be decided based on local needs. In the Vadala kitchen, the feedback given was that they needed protein in their meals. So they added 'daal' (lentils). Wherever they could, they also cooked egg and chicken biryani. Bilal explained how the kitchens became a space for diverse communities to come together and experience solidarity in their struggles. In Vadala, there were Dalit (lower caste) community members, in the Mandala community kitchen it was majorly Muslims and Ambujwadi was a mixed kitchen. People would line up together and every individual was handed a plate or ration packets in their hands.
It was important to give space to the local leadership that had always existed in the community. But sometimes, volunteers would get too much attention and activists have been attacked, because of a nexus of the mafia, politicians, and local police. Lara Jesani shares, "There are a lot of dynamics within the Bastis (slums). Therefore, people who took up running these kitchens had to have credibility and a strong footing in their constituency." While some people were busy hoarding, Bilal also experienced the generosity of marginalised communities in desperate times. Often, they would return resources, asking the team to feed someone else who needed to eat. He says, "Any form of a commune will contribute to bridging the divide because it will demand the coexistence of people from different classes, caste, and religion. We have worked in other disaster areas and realise that in a moment of crisis, people do forget all their differences."
‘Langars’ (Community meals), in Gurudwaras, play an important role in feeding everyone, no matter what caste, class, religion and also help reduce the religious divide.
Garnish It With Dignity
Daughter of an Air Force Officer, Bhavreen Malhotra became politically active while studying at Delhi University. She joined the Mandal Commission protests in 1990 and later, worked as an environmentalist abroad. In 2016, back in Delhi, Bhavreen called over 300 parents at Jantar Mantar to protest against the severe pollution in the city. And that was the year she became an integral part of the movement - 'My Right to Breathe', and has been involved in varied social issues since then.
"I was coming back from work at 9:30 p.m. just before the lockdown and I saw migrants stranded on the road. I came back home with such a heavy heart and realised I have so much. So many bartans (utensils), groceries, and food. The question that kept running in my head was – what is going to happen to them now? My family and I started packing rations and delivering them. My daughters and her friends started a hunger helpline. I called the SHO at the Police Station and asked him to help in distributing rations at Anand Vihar Bus Terminal, Ring Road, and other such public places." Gradually, the entire family, including her parents-in-law also got involved in packing thousands of relief kits with bread, butter, jam, and juices. In terms of funding, she started with her own money, but seeing her efforts, her neighbours also pooled in money and resources.
In June, Bhavreen saw poor migrants stranded in the scorching heat. By then the Krishna Nagar Gurudwara in Lajpat Nagar had started organising lassis (cool yogurt drinks) for the public. "Ye sab bade bade drums kachi lassi aur baraf se bhar rahe the aur rickshaw par ye drums daal kar migrants ke pass jate aur lassi de rahe the (They were filling huge drums with lassi and ice and used cycle rickshaws to deliver to migrants). You can't question their Seva and dedication. Subah ke 5:00 baje uthke kaam pe lag jate the (They get to work at in the morning). They were preparing langar (community meal) on one side, packing dry rations, medicines, water bottles, and masks on the other side. Also, these people in the Gurdwara were not scared at all. They kept saying Wahe guru hai, humko kuch naho hoga (The Lord is there, nothing will happen to us)."
Sevaks (volunteers) would start by filling water in huge steel vessels early in the mornings because that is the time the water tankers would come. They made the Roohafza drinks first, and then started the tandoor (oven) to make Rotis. "Even the DM's staff, the police, the medical staff came over as they were also standing in the heat all day. Some Constables would pack some of the food and take it home to eat at night. And now you compare this community initiative versus what the Delhi government was doing. I have seen the khichdi being given out by the Delhi government. It was all watery, smelly, and had worms. Where is the dignity and respect in that?"
Bhavreen says her family is closely associated with the Gurdwara and that she has seen the Sevaks going to each migrant and giving them food in their hands and lovingly talking to them. These were the migrants who had been waiting for food the entire day. "Sikhism teaches that everyone is equal. Gurunanak ji preached about 500 years ago that everyone, no matter what caste, class, religion must sit on the floor and eat together. So, with these values, when community kitchens are run, then of course the religious divide can be reduced."
Enterprising, To Ensure No One Goes Hungry
Like all self-help group platforms, 'Kudumbashree' in Kerala is involved in micro-financing at the local levels. “It is an effective community structure that starts with the neighbourhood groups and ends with the Panchayat (village council)”, says Hemlata- the distribution coordinator of Malappuram. Starting as a poverty alleviation mission, Kudumbashree now works in all the development areas that the government undertakes. Today, the Kudumbashree Mission structure is a powerful medium to empower women in the state. It enables them to earn on their own by giving credit and small loans. "Every single woman from the neighbourhood group becomes a volunteer. We work with the Panchayat Raj institutions. What happens at the smallest level in the grassroots, the information is immediately passed through to the higher level. Getting that information from the grassroots level is the (importance of) Kudumbashree system."
When the lockdown was announced, all Panchayat and municipal activities came to an end, along with hundreds of small informal sector jobs. With a sizable migrant labour population in Kerala, the repercussion was dire. This is when the already existing system of the Kudumbashree Mission came into play. Stepping up to the occasion, the well-oiled system took it upon itself, to cater to additional demands triggered by the lockdown. Food and employment generation was top on their list. "Our women decided to create more employment opportunities and our tailoring units immediately started making masks. And then sanitizers, using prior trained individuals. Then, the government announced a need for community kitchens. Kudumbashree was entrusted with the duty of starting the community kitchen. We ran it till May end until lockdown restrictions were revised and hotels were reopening." The combined efforts successfully ran community kitchens in 93 Gram Panchayats and 12 municipalities, serving about 8 lakh 64 thousand 77 units during the lockdown period. Almost all the meals were free.
When the lockdown restriction was revised, Hemlata and her team continued their work because the need did not stop. They started sending out parcels of lunches at Rs.20, cooked at the Janakeeya Hotels (inexpensive local eateries). Other make-shift food stalls and juice bars, some run by the transgender community, continue to serve a vital purpose of offering cheap meals to the hungry. "In all such community kitchens, our members start work at 5:00 in the mornings, providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They also step up to help the society when an issue requires help beyond food." Hemlata is confident of the Kudumbashree Mission's deep value to society.
Can community kitchens heal individuals and communities and become a permanent feature post-pandemic? Mumbai-based housing rights activist Bilal Khan (of Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan) says that community kitchens act as spaces for diverse communities to come together and experience solidarity in their struggles.
Beyond Hunger – The Healing Power Of Food
The significance of all the above goodwill gestures (and hundreds more) is indisputable. Despite lockdown rules in place, ordinary people put their lives at risk to fulfil an urgent need – cutting across social differences of caste, gender, religion, and political affiliations. Diverse people came together to work side by side in the community kitchens, breaking social barriers and norms. People cooked together, sat and ate together, they shared a common space.
Working together in this way, they provided a healing touch to fears of the pandemic, wounds of communal riots, rebuilt broken interfaith bridges, and fostered a lasting kinship at a humane level.
The democratic spaces thus created in the community kitchens, the ownership of the cooking that people took on, serve as guiding lights for managing hunger, not just during a crisis. They show us that food security can be resourcefully enabled with local community initiatives. That we can effectively keep populations well-fed – with forceful intent, organized logistics, cooking with love, and service with compassion. Offering food to the hungry should never be an act of giving out doles of affected generosity. Neither should it be an act of political leverage or other such self-aggrandizing social service.
The fact that people flocked to places where healthy fresh food was distributed without any questions asked and served with a sense of respect for the receiver, proves that it is what people crave for most – dignity in the act of staying alive.
We would like to express our gratitude to the many individuals and groups who shared their stories, and enabled us to curate this piece. To support their work, please click on the links below !
Lekha Roy, Delhi
Arjun Pandey, Janta Rasoi, Gurgaon
Khushroo Poacha, Seva Kitchen, Nagpur
Navdeep Singh, Two Meals Extra, Pune
Praveen and Maria, Mazdoor Pahal , Delhi
Rashid Ansari, Nandita Narain, Sagar and Rhea, Roshni, Mazdoor Kitchen , Delhi
Bilal Khan, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan , Mumbai
Bhavreen Malhotra, Delhi
Hemlata, Kudumbashree, Kerala
Written by Nida Ansari, MJ Neela and Anjani Grover
Edited by MJ Neela
Illustrated by Vidya Gopal
Art Direction by Pooja Dhingra