HYDERABAD: About one-third of all food in India gets wasted, according to the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). The UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021 mentioned that household food waste in India is approximately 50 kg per person annually. This is when according to Global Hunger Index, we were on the 101st rank out of 121 countries. We slipped to 107th rank in 2022.
These data sets help us identify the contradiction that we live in, we waste just about the same amount of food that we produce while more than 14% of our population is undernourished.
In a scenario like this, careful planning and utilisation of the food produced is required. Also, a system to move surplus food to those in need. There are a few good samaritans who have taken up the responsibility to build this system and have been relentlessly working in that direction for almost a decade.
Robin Hood Army (RHA) is an organisation, formed in 2014, which helps provide surplus food produced in the cities to those in need. It is a volunteer-based organisation and takes zero funds from its donors or volunteers.
What is exciting is that on this Independence Day, when India turns 76, RHA is launching an international campaign to serve underprivileged citizens across rural India and Pakistan. Through their endeavour called #MissionSwades, RHA is launching a collective societal effort in the week leading to the August 15 celebrations.
“This ambitious project will unite civilians, creators, media houses and corporates to come together to provide millions of meals to the less fortunate across villages,” said Maruti Prasad, one of the city representatives of the organisation. The other representatives from Hyderabad include Aswain Mohanty, Kiran Kumar and Prakash, all handling different roles.
“#MissionSwades will focus on two major things: serving 10 million meals in 1000 villages. The dedicated army of RHA volunteers in India and Pakistan will join forces to deliver nourishing meals and rations to their fellow citizens, targeting the most marginalised populations in these countries. Each city will adopt around two-five villages through this mission, where food and groceries will be provided to those in need,” he explained.
The second aspect of this drive includes, said Prasad, setting up rural networks for the long term. “Kicking off RHA’s long-term outreach in rural India, the team will build food, logistics, and mobilisation networks to ensure that hundreds of villages get a constant supply of rations through the cities every month. The most enormous pockets of hunger lives in the roots of our country - our villages. If we have to fight hunger on a bigger scale, focusing on rural India is important,” he added.
Hyderabad has about 1000 volunteers with 16 chapters and they will be reaching out to the needy and distributing groceries in more than 50 villages in the upcoming mission. The volunteers comprise young professionals and citizens who have taken to the streets in their free time to fight global hunger. Prasad explained that the team collects surplus food from restaurants and distributes it to the less fortunate. They have a WhatsApp number (8971966164) through which volunteers and donors can connect with the organisation by sending a ‘Hi’ to the given number.
Through their networks, they have been able to identify the pockets in rural and urban areas where food is required. As donors inform the organisation about surplus food they have, the volunteers pick the food from the given location and distribute it among nearby pockets. Every day, about 1200-1500 people are fed through the efforts made by the organisation in the city. In nine years, RHA has served food to 122.8 million people across 403 cities globally through a team of 2,30,000 volunteers.