THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At 5am, the Thycaud LP school, host to a community kitchen set up by the corporation, starts buzzing with activity. The kitchen, which serves meals throughout the day to over 850 neediest is managed by a limited number of volunteers. When asked, they say the demand for meals is growing by the day. The community kitchen at Thycaud LP School is one of the first kitchens opened by the local body. Suresh Kumar, a caterer by profession, has joined the community kitchen to do his bit for the society.
“I wake up at 4.30am so that I reach here by 5am. We have to start early to ensure that the food is served on time,” says Suresh. Chandrakumari, who has been working at the school kitchen for the past two decades, walks nearly 2km everyday to reach the school.“There is no vehicle and I don’t mind walking to reach here. This is my first time cooking for so many people.
We serve breakfast, lunch and dinner,” she says. To practise social distancing, the team has been divided and assigned different responsibilities. Since the launch of the kitchen, there has been a steady flow of help and all kinds of assistance from NGOs and the public. “We receive plenty of calls requesting food delivery and it is tough to filter those. Our target is to reach out to the poverty- ridden who are helpless. We are trying to mobilise all the raw materials,” says Suresh. Around 15 volunteers are part of the team.