Meet Anoop Khanna, the man behind ‘Dadi Ki Rasoi’, which feeds 500 people a day
Located at Ganga Shopping Complex, Sector 29, Noida, Anoop Khanna’s Dadi Ki Rasoi serves food at Rs 5 per meal to people living below the poverty line.
For many people living below the poverty line in India, affording a single meal in the day becomes really difficult. No wonder this country is home to about 195.9 million undernourished people, according to the United Nations.
To curb the menace, several state governments such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha, among others have taken the initiative to provide free food to the poor, under schemes such as ‘Amma Canteen’ in Chennai, ‘Indira Canteen’ in Bengaluru, and ‘Aahar Yojana’ in Bhubaneswar, respectively.
Anoop Khana (Image: NDTV)
Furthermore, several NGOs and individuals have also been providing free or affordable food to the poor. Anoop Khanna, a Noida-based social activist is one such individual, who feeds almost 500 people every day under his initiative, ‘Dadi Ki Rasoi.’
The humble initiative, that started four years ago, provides a wholesome meal for only Rs 5 and constitutes of dal, chawal, roti and vegetable dishes. The small outlet is open every day from 10:00 am – 11:30 am in Sector 17 and 12 pm – 2 pm in Sector 29.
One can locate the ‘rasoi’ at Ganga Shopping Complex, Sector 29, Noida, where rickshaw drivers and their families come in for the food.
The idea behind the kitchen was of Anoop’s daughter, Sakshi Khanna, for which he invested Rs 30,000 for the setup. Anoop also started receiving donations from other like minded people too.
Speaking to The Logical Indian, on the same, Anoop says,
“Shopkeepers give me raw materials at a discounted price. Many residents donate special meals on special occasions like birthday, wedding anniversary and so on. Their support is immense.”
To manage the expenses and run the food stall, Anoop buys all the groceries in bulk from a wholesale market, that costs him half the market price. Further, Anoop has now got a ‘sabzi vala’, who sells his vegetable for half the price, in return for food for him and his family.
Anoop Khanna serving food among the citizens (Image: NDTV)
Speaking to NDTV, on maintaining overall food quality, Anoop’s manager, Sonu says,
"We have four CCTV cameras installed where the food is prepared to ensure that everything goes fine. Khanna Ji monitors all the recording himself.”
Even though the motive is to feed the poor, food isn’t provided for a free at ‘Dadi Ki Rasoi.’ Anoop says, people shouldn’t lose their self-respect, as one can get a second round of serving at the same price. Hence, he charges Rs 5 for meals, which is quite affordable.
Apart from providing food to the poor, Anoop also sells clothes to the poor at only Rs 10 once in fifteen days, in addition to the books, and shoes, through his Sadhbhavana store, Jagran reports.
In 2017, he also opened the first Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendra in Noida, under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana. Currently, he has two medical stores in Noida, which caters to the needs of the poor in a medical emergency.
Recently, Anoop’s mother, who was also keen on looking after the poor, passed away at the age of 90. Post which, her ashes were spread on a field to grow plants, instead of submerging into the river, Anoop says.
(Edited by Suman Singh)
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