Coronavirus: Zomato’s ‘Feed the Daily Wager’ initiative collects Rs 1.5 Cr in 17 hours
Foodtech giant Zomato has launched the ‘Feed the Daily Wager’ initiative to ensure meals for daily wage workers who are out of work due to the 21-day coronavirus lockdown.
While work from home has become a necessity for many in India amid the coronavirus outbreak and national lockdown, a huge portion of the population who work in the unorganised sector or as daily wage earners are worried about feeding their families.
At this time of global distress, Indian foodtech unicorn Zomato launched the ‘Feed the Daily Wager’ initiative on March 24 to support and ensure meals for workers at construction sites, shops, restaurants, delivery staff, and local transport systems who earn on daily basis.
Taking to , Founder Deepinder Goyal also announced that the company had collected Rs 1.5 crore within 17 hours of launching the initiative.
What is the initiative all about?
According to the official statement, under the ‘Feed the Daily Wager’ initiative, will be providing food support to the daily wage earner communities during this time of distress.
The foodtech giant revealed that it has made ration kits, including wheat flour or rice, two types of pulses and a bar of soap, to meet the needs for a family of five members for one week.
“Each kit will cost Rs 500 and will be delivered to various locations across 26 cities. We have partnered with local NGOs across these cities to help us distribute these kits responsibly, while adhering to social distancing norms, to ensure safety of volunteers and beneficiaries. For this, we will need a total fund support of Rs 25 crore from donors,” the official statement said.
Zomato has also joined hands with Grofers to organise ration kits across cities. According to the company, the kits will be delivered to local hubs once they receive donations.
It has also partnered with multiple local NGOs to ensure that the kits are distributed responsibly and hygienically among the communities.
How can you help?
Anybody can help Zomato in their cause by donating money for preparing the kits. One can choose to donate an amount of Rs 500, Rs 1,500 or Rs 2,500 to support up to five families. Apart from this, one may also choose to donate more to reach out to more people in the time of crisis.
“We will send our contributors a transparency report on how and where their funds were utilized. This is a 100 percent not-for-profit campaign,” the Zomato statement said.
(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)