Food for thought - how these Bengalureans are doing their bit for Covid patients by providing free meals

As India braves the second wave of COVID-19, its citizens are emerging as real heroes by rising to the challenge and offering help in any way they can. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there are 33,53,675 Covid patients in the country as of May 18, 2021.

For many quarantined at home with symptoms of fatigue, headache, and fever among others, the challenge in the recovery path is access to healthy food. 

In Bengaluru, these Covid warriors are helping patients by opening up their kitchens, and coordinating with home chefs, restaurants, and volunteers to ensure healthy home cooked meals reach the doorsteps of patients in quarantine.

Sneha Vachhaney

The initial outbreak of COVID-19 in India in 2020 put a lot of the financially challenged population of India at risk of both COVID-19 and poverty. During the nationwide lockdown last year, Sneha Vachhaney and her mother stepped in to help - by cooking about 50 to 60 meals a day for migrant workers, children in orphanages, and schools that had run out of funds. 

When India found itself in the grip of a second brutal wave of the pandemic, Sneha got back to her kitchen, this time cooking for Covid patients quarantined at home. 

On 19 April this year, Sneha took to Instagram to announce free meals for Covid patients, and received more than 100 messages in two days. 

“I also reached out to folks in our society for volunteer support, and while some volunteered to prepare meals, others came forward to sponsor them. My friends started similar services in their neighborhood,” she shares. 

ALSO READ

How citizens of India are coming to the rescue amidst a brutal second wave of COVID-19

Exactly a month since she first announced her initiative on Instagram, Sneha is now joined by around 450 meal providers across Bengaluru including Balaji, an idli shop owner in her neighborhood. "Just between me and Balaji along with his wife and cook, we would have sent at least 3500 meals so far," she says. 

The impact, she adds, has become much greater with restaurants also joining in the effort and giving free food. Today, it also serves frontline workers like crematorium workers, ambulance drivers, doctors and nurses, and police working night shifts.

A former senior product manager at MakeMyTrip, Sneha leveraged her experience in overseeing tech product operation and looped in an ex-colleague to develop a website to aggregate all the information on food for covid patients, and to allow volunteers to sign up seamlessly.

The website sees about 1000 visitors daily from 15 countries including Singapore, Germany, Canada, and Australia. Sneha receives calls and messages from Indians abroad who are looking out for their parents and family members in the city.

"It is very heartwarming to see people come together. A couple who had lost jobs said they would love to help cook the meal but would have to charge a bare minimum to keep the service going. There are students saying they have supplies for a week and would be able to continue if supplies are provided."  

Sneha says the initiative can use more support in terms of manpower, as the current set of volunteers are getting exhausted by the scale of work or financial limitations.

Rakhi Chatterjee, Raya Chatterjee, and Prasanjeet Maitra

In Mahadevapura Bengaluru, Rakhi Chatterjee and other residents of her apartment were part of a WhatsApp group, ‘Meal Till You Heal’. Rakhi had recently learnt about a 22-year-old who was down with COVID-19 and surviving on Maggi noodles for four days as his parents were in Germany.

Rakhi, her husband Prasenjeet Maitra, and her sister decided to help him only to find more and more people in need outside their apartment. 

“I am a psychologist working for a corporate company and counsel many covid-positive people needing emotional support. I know it can be financially challenging as well, so I wanted to do my bit and provide food for free,” she shares.

The trio prepares food for nine families now, preparing separate meals for toddlers. 

“Although it is a very small number and we haven't provided for 100s of families, it still gets taxing at times. There is workload from our day job, lack of containers and utensils to send the food. More manpower in the form of cooks can make a huge difference. After all, we are all in this together,” she shares. 

Miti Desai and Piyus Jain

During the nationwide lockdown in 2020, Bengaluru-based designer Miti Desai began offering home cooked food to an elderly lady in Ulsoor for three and a half months. In October, she made phulka rotis at home to sell, promising to donate one for every roti sold, which became the foundation for Recipe of Hope. 

With Rs 5000 generated from the initiative, she teamed up with Piyush Jain, a fellow designer and began providing meals for the rising number of COVID-19 patients during the second wave.

The duo received some 300 calls once they shared their poster for free food service. Piyush took charge of operations and planning work while Miti rallied with volunteers cooking a few extra meals. At present, 10 individuals have opened their kitchens, but the duo says there is a greater need on the ground. 

“It is growing but the intention is not growth, it is not a venture but an attempt to fulfill a need. The best day is when we start slowing down and can finally shut it because eventually the dream is to see people not suffering anymore,” the duo shares. 

Despite an overwhelming journey, they say, "It is a feeling of community and gratitude for being able to make a difference. We also put customised stickers with the name of the sender and messages wishing them a speedy recovery."

According to Miti and Piyus, there are three ways one can show support: by spreading the word, sponsoring meals, or opening one’s kitchen.

“All I am saying is that if 100 people do one extra meal a day, that much more people will get the food. We will streamline everything if you can just cook. Volunteers can also inform us 24 hours ahead if they will be unable to cook on particular days and there will be no judgement,” Miti assures.