THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Food for Freedom, an initiative by the Department of Prison and Correctional Service, Kerala Prisons, has been drawing hordes of customers with their hygienic, well-managed and delicious food varieties available at the takeaway counter in Thampanoor Bus Terminal and other mobile counters in the city including Museum, East Fort and medical college. Now, they are all set to take the next step to deliver prison-prepared dishes to the masses through online food delivery services.
After Viyyur Central Prison in Thrissur tied up with the food delivery app 'Swiggy' to deliver food at the customers' doorsteps, Poojappura Central Jail is all set to follow the same path. Soon, city residents can order parotta, chappathi and biriyani combinations through Uber Eats, one of the most popular food delivery services in the city.
The initiative was mooted by the Director-general of Prisons Rishiraj Singh. Former superintendent of Poojappura prison, Vinod Kumar, said the popularity of jail food has fetched them orders for special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries. "There is an increase in the number of customers at all food counters, especially at the Food for Freedom cafeteria. Food is prepared without preservatives and is sealed. This could be the reason for more takers," said Vinod. More than 200 inmates have been preparing dishes and serving the city through their takeaway counters and the cafeteria Food for Freedom for a while. raw materials for cooking are produced by the inmates themselves on the jail compound and are pesticide-free.
"The main aim of the initiative is to make the jail products more accessible to the public at a reasonable price," said a food supervisor at the Food for Freedom counter at Thampanoor Bus Terminal.
Poojappura Central Jail is known for its chappathi-mutton chops, kanji-payar and kappa-chutney combinations. More such combinations will be offered online by Poojappura Prison which include biriyani with fried chicken, pickle, salad and lime juice at Rs 99, ghee rice and chicken fry/beef roast at Rs 139, Kerala porotta and chicken thoran at Rs 90. The Poojappura Prison authorities have entered into an agreement with Uber Eats and will soon be delivering the jail delicacies online. For Onam, the prison authorities plan to deliver Onasadya online.