The work and the journey

“Needy people increased everyday and the funds were reducing, hence we worked towards starting a crowd-sourcing approach and were successful in raising money to keep the work of Change With One Meal going forward,” Kiran added. With some resources in hand, Change For One Meal started serving more people and at present they feed around 2000 people everyday in Noida. Food is distributed at four different centres in the city namely Sector 37 (Harijan Basti), Sector 44, sector 72 (Sarfabad) and Greater Noida.

The meal provided includes a combination of two nutritious food items. The menu is revised on a continuous basis to look out for the calorie requirement of all. Someday it is rajma-rice, choole rice, chapati-curry, rice-dal or something else, the organization leaves no stones unturned to make sure three meals a day reaches the vulnerable.

“Effective budgeting has helped us provide for more. Initially our costs were around Rs 30 per meal, it has now come down to Rs 10 – Rs 12 per meal, owing to the centralized kitchen. The logistical requirements were not very difficult to put in place owing to the hard work and commitment of the team and the volunteers,” Kiran states.

Around 40 volunteers strive every day to distribute food and rations to the public.

“All safety protocols are compulsorily followed by each one of us. Our centralized kitchen, our centres and our utensils – all of them are sanitized and cleaned regularly. The safety of our team is of paramount importance not just to us for the ones in need too,” he affirms.

One of the volunteers Sumit Rajput narrates that the problem is never bigger than the solution. “Numerous initiatives during lockdown speak more about human compassion than anything else.If all of us crawled to our comfortable homes, who will look after others? When I went to the centres and saw people having literally nothing, I decided that this lockdown should be dedicated to helping and reminding everyone of the need for constant empathy,” Sumit adds.

Other initiatives

Change for One Meal has not only been working to provide meals but has also been delivering hygienic essentials. The organization recently contributed sanitary pads to a girls’ orphanage in the Nizamuddin areas as well sanitary essentials to the red-light area of GB road, Delhi.

  “In our small way, we are trying our best to spread hope – hope that the world still loves, that it still cares and that we are all in this together,” Kiran asserts.