Kolkata’s food ATM initiative fights hunger, reduces food waste
At half past 11 on a July night in Kolkata the city is gradually settling into the sultry quiet of the monsoon season. A call comes in to Kolkata We Care, a non-profit organisation with an urgent message: a local banquet hall has surplus food that needs to be collected. Swiftly, a volunteer responds, and arrives at the address and pick up the food.
Within a minute, the 320-litre refrigerator at the Food ATM installed at CIT Road is filled to capacity. The purpose of this timely intervention, a part of Kolkata’s Food ATM initiative, is to address the binary opposites of hunger and food waste in the City of Joy. The NGO responded to challenge in June and is set to relaunch the food ATM initiative.
In 2017, Asif Ahmed, 48, one of the founding partners of the Sanjha Chulha restaurant chain, observed that patrons often left food uneaten at their tables, leaving behind a surplus that could feed the city’s hungry. “I discussed this concern with my friends and came up with the concept of a food bank. After several brainstorming sessions, we decided to keep a refrigerator, which we called the ‘Food ATM’, outside our restaurant,” he says. As time passed, he realised that the cause they upheld must become a community activity that includes more people. Kolkata We Care, established in March 2024, stepped into the picture.
It has forged partnerships with the Rotary Club and Lions Club to advance the food ATM initiative. The foundation is also working closely with the Kolkata Police and the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to cultivate a robust ecosystem that supports this cause. “We believe that no one should go to bed hungry, especially when there is surplus food available which often goes waste,” says Imran Zaki, 54, social entrepreneur and core member of Kolkata We Care. “Our goal is to make Food ATMs a common sight across the city,” he adds.
A card is not needed to operate the Food ATM; the food is free of charge as well and can be donated by anyone. Currently, there is only one Food ATM in operation, and the NGO plans to install two more this month. Ahmed says, “We have launched two pilot projects at Birla Bharati School and BDM High School to collect food. If people understand how to handle excess food, they will certainly participate in the cause. What better place to start than in schools?”
Students are instructed to bring one dish per month per class—a juice packet, banana, or a packet of chips. “Counting five sections per class, our refrigerator would be filled up in the blink of an eye,” Ahmed hopes.
According to Zaki, the food they receive is always in edible condition, “When people take the effort to contact us and arrange for food donations, they are aware of what they are sending. We have never received spoiled food.”
The first food bank was started in Arizona in 1967. Its widespread adoption, however started only during the Reagan administration in 1981, when the country was haunted by recession and welfare reductions. The model quickly spread to Canada, Australia, Europe, and Latin America in the 1990s. In recent years, food banks have expanded into East Asia, Southeast Asia, India, and Sub-Saharan Africa. “While the concept has gained traction in the West, it is challenging to set it up in India,” Shahbaaz Zaman, 33, a Kolkata-based food vlogger says. Sourcing surplus food is not easy. Restaurants are wary of sending food which could have been corrupted due to poor food hygiene or delay. They fear liability and prosecution should something go wrong with the food.
The negatives do not faze Zaki, “Awareness and education are crucial to the success of such a project. It’s about taking small steps toward a larger goal.” His appetite for being a Good Samaritan never ends.