community initiative

In a world where we produce enough food to feed everyone, 821 million people – one in nine – still go to bed on an empty stomach every night. Even more -- one in three – suffer from some form of malnutrition. Inspired by Sarabjeet Singh of Shimla, I thought of starting something similar on a very small scale in our residential society, Akme Encore, in Kundalahalli. I sent out a video of Sarabjeet's work on our community WhatsApp group and called for volunteers. Around 6-7 people came forward but we were clueless about what to do next.  To gain…

“We come and check. If it’s good and we like it, we take it, otherwise we know it’ll be useful to someone else. Everything kept here is put to good use,” says a woman smiling, as she picks up an item kept at the Brookefield Community Fridge. In a city where one has Zomato, Swiggy, high-end restaurants, big breweries, ice cream parlours, Indira canteens and numerous other options, food should be the last worry on a Bengalurean’s mind. Yet, there are hundreds of families who go to bed on an empty stomach in Bengaluru every day. While mid-day meals in schools,…

The name board of the Chitrapur Mutt in Malleswaram is hidden behind a thicket of trees inside the compound. The gate is lined with colour coded waste bins that indicate the disposal of different kinds of waste. The Saraswat-Konkan community that takes care of this mutt, started practicing zero-waste processes in 2014. Rekha Mavinakurve, a frequent visitor of the mutt, is also an active volunteer in Malleshwaram working on solid waste management issues. She is a member of Malleshwaram Swabhimana Initiative, a community-based organisation (CBO) group that works in Malleshwaram. She spearheaded the movement to shift towards a completely independent…

In late September, a young woman from Bengaluru woke up in the wee hours of the night with a rumbling stomach. As she munched away to fill her stomach, she thought of the many people in the city who probably went to sleep on an empty stomach. Thus began Feed Your Neighbour (FYN), a campaign started by Mahita Fernandez, a young entrepreneur, to eradicate Bengaluru’s hunger. For those who are still in the dark about the initiative, here’s a quick introduction. FYN calls for Bengalureans to cook five additional meals at their home between October 12th and 22nd, and drop…

“This Dusshera, my aim is to try and ease Bangalore’s hunger problem.” So begins Mahita Fernandez’ post on the Facebook group “Feed Your Neighbour”. Pic: facebook.com/groups/421419554714295 The idea for the initiative, Feed Your Neighbour (FYN), came to Mahita in the wee hours of a night when she woke up hungry. She says, “I woke up with a rumbling stomach around 3 am and felt thankful that I had food to eat. I then thought about the thousands in the city who are probably hungry and have nothing to eat. The very next morning, I put down the idea on paper…