Annamrita’s Relief Feeding Journey During COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak

On 25th March 2020, the Government of India announced a 21-day complete lockdown for the first time to contain the number of COVID-19 cases. Since then, there were multiple lockdowns from time to time to limit the infection spread. The pandemic outbreak affected the lives of people in every section of society. But, the worst affected communities were the migrant workers and homeless people. The Government, on its part, implemented relief measures to help them. Annamrita Foundation, one of the largest food NGOs in India, also joined hands to aid Government efforts in distributing food across the country.

I have been working at Annamrita since 2017 as an NGO volunteer. How the organization supported Government efforts through its network of kitchens by working closely with the Central Government, State Government, and civic administrations was remarkable. With generous online donations for corona relief from our corporate partners and individual donors, more volunteers were motivated to selflessly come forward in times of need to distribute cooked meals and relief kits. 

We provided COVID-19 food relief across various states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Tripura. Our unique relief programs helped us distribute high-quality, nutritious meals and dry rations to vulnerable communities, maintaining the highest safety standards.

Annamrita Karuna

The Karuna program was for the lakhs of migrant workers who lost access to income and daily meals after getting stranded during the initial lockdown. Philanthropists contributing to our online donation for corona relief fund helped us deliver over 3,00,000 COVID relief meals across 14 cities every day. It has been more than two years now,  our team is still working in the kitchen, in two shifts preparing relief meals and delivering them to those in need.

Karuna Hospital Program

The healthcare workers demonstrated one of the noblest acts during the pandemic outbreak. Right from day one, the doctors and hospital staff worked tirelessly to restore the nation to health. In times like this, being a prominent food NGO, Annamrita provided nutritious meals to hospital staff to revitalize them. The sole mission of our program is to serve freshly prepared meals to all the frontline workers who relentlessly fought the battle against COVID-19.

Municipal Staff Food Relief Program

With the pandemic wreaking havoc in the country, it was essential to sanitize public places and keep the streets clean; as a safety measure to control the infection rates. It was an act of bravery on the part of the essential workers to step forward to ensure cleanliness while putting their lives and the lives of their family members in harm’s way. At Annamrita, we ensured they got the nourishment they needed with a full-course COVID-19 relief meal cooked under utmost hygiene standards in our kitchens. The beneficiaries included in this program were workers from the maintenance, public health, social justice, disaster management, and waste management departments.

Kit of Joy

As the pandemic hit in 2020, hunger threatened the lives of many, especially women and children who were worst affected. Several school-going children lost access to mid-day meals as the schools shut down. Before the long-term effects of the pandemic could surface, we urged our corporate partners and individual donors to make online donations for corona relief to arrange for the Annamrita Kit of Joy and deliver nourishment to children in the form of dry rations. These kits comprise rice, flour, pulses, sugar, salt, cooking oil, turmeric, and chili powder. These food kits are sufficient to prepare two meals per day for a child for about 21 days. We have already distributed more than eight crore Kits of Joy to needy families across eight states.

Annamrita’s team understood the urgency and the criticality of the endeavor. Being a prominent food NGO, we strive to maintain the highest safety and hygiene standards while reaching out to as many people in need as possible. We are grateful to our corporate sponsors, individual donors, and well-wishers who made generous online donations for corona relief to help restore normalcy. The motivated volunteers (including me) will continue to work with earnest hope to build a hunger-free nation throughout this crisis and beyond.