Turning Food Waste Into Meals for Needy with Feeding India, Ankit Kawatra

More people die from hunger worldwide than from AIDS, malaria, and TB combined. Every year, approximately 31 lakh children die from malnutrition. 16.1 crore children worldwide experience hunger and malnutrition. One in nine people on the planet, or nearly 79.5 crore people, are chronically malnourished, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. It is estimated that 27.6 crore people in Southern Asia, which includes Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, are chronically malnourished. The majority of undernourished people in the world live in India, where more than 20 crore people go to bed hungry every night.

At the age of 22 years, Ankit Kawatra founded Feeding India with the straightforward goal of bridging the gap between hunger and food waste. The non-profit social venture seeks to address India‘s issues with hunger and food waste.

When he attended a lavish wedding in Delhi where more than 35 different cuisines were served, he became intrigued about what happened to the leftover food. When he contacted the caterer, he was shocked to learn that all the additional food, enough to serve close to 10,000 people, would be wasted. His life was profoundly altered by this dawning realization. Ankit persuaded his friends and coworkers to help him gather leftover food from weddings, parties, canteens, restaurants, etc. to give to people in need over the course of the following few weeks.

More than 1.35 million meals have been given to individuals in need by Feeding India as of this writing. By doing this, it has prevented the loss of food valued at about Rs 3.75 crore. The organizational structure is straightforward. Contacting Feeding India via their email, mobile app, or 24/7 hotline is a great way for those who have extra food to give. The extra food is then gathered from households, weddings, or dining establishments and given to those without access to it.