CHENNAI: Shreya Jayakumar (name changed) is a homemaker who is particular about cooking fresh meals for her family of four. One of the biggest challenges she faces is the surplus food. This food either ends up lying in the fridge uneaten for days only to be thrown out or is given to the maids working at her place.
However, Jayakumar now has another option. To pack that food and place it in the swanky new community fridge that has been placed outside the Besant Nagar Tennis Club. The fridge, which was installed on Sunday under the Ayyamittu Unn project by a trust named The Public Foundation, is looking at providing anyone who is hungry with access to fresh, free food.
I have been wanting to start this for quite some time now,” says Dr Issa Fathima Jasmine, the woman behind the initiative. “I used to give away the excess food I had at home to those on the pavement and it was then that I realised that I should streamline this and didn’t want to make it just for the poor, but anyone who is hungry and wants to fill their stomach.”
In the Global Hunger Index report released last year, India was categorised as one of the countries with a serious hunger problem, with 15.2% of the population undernourished.
If that is hard to digest, here is some more to chew on. The CSR Journal published an article that said Indians wasted as much food as the whole of United Kingdom consumes. It isn’t just wastage in terms of grains but food consumed at home, restaurants, weddings, canteens, hotels and other social gatherings.
Jasmine was inspired by an article she read about a community fridge in London. When she decided to replicate it in the city, she faced a lot of negativity as people felt it was not a practical option. This was when she decided to launch the project with her own funds and upon seeing the response, she doesn’t regret it.
“The response has been overwhelming,” Jasmine says. “I have been getting calls continuously from people all over. There was someone who said he would send vegetables from Coimbatore. Someone else said they’d be willing to set up another community fridge in Tambaram. Expansion is on the cards but I would first like to wait and see how things go for a month before committing to anything more.”
The initiative calls for businesses, restaurants and residents to participate by leaving edible food, that would otherwise be wasted so those in need can gain access to it. Residents from different parts of the city, who had heard of the project through friends and family, have dropped by and contributed to the cause. R Kripa, a resident of Valmiki Nagar, is one such person.
“The moment I heard about it, I only wondered why I hadn’t thought of it!” she exclaims. “I have brought some food from home and I am definitely going to keep frequenting this community fridge as I often have a lot of excess food that I don’t know what to do with. This is a great way to give people access to food with great dignity. It provides a certain anonymity too which is wonderful.”
Restaurants too seem to be very open to the idea. However, many say that they are extremely particular not to waste any food and prepare most of the dishes on order to avoid wastage. The real challenge, they say, arises when catering has to be done.
“We have been in the business for 20 years now so have come to understand consumption patterns well,” said Abhyuday Purkayastha, Brand Manager at Bayleaf. “Profit is linked to wastage and hence we try to keep wastage to the bare minimum by planning well in advance. Those who are just starting out in the food business and those who cater for large gatherings and events are generally the ones who face challenges with food wastage.”
Mathangi Kumar, partner and head chef at That Madras Place, echoes this sentiment when she reiterates that food wastage differs from restaurant to restaurant. “This is certainly a great idea for us to explore but we don’t really have the problem of excesses,” says Kumar.
“I have, however, seen a number of restaurants where they don’t think twice and just throw their food in the drain at the end of the day. They should actively look into this and while any food will be a blessing for anyone in need, if one really wants to bring a smile on their faces, one should give them food they are used to. That makes Indian food the ideal option.”
The novel initiative doesn’t restrict contributions to food alone. Those who are interested can donate clothes, books, stationery, toys, shoes and just about anything else that can be used by someone in need.