It takes a positive approach in life to bring about a positive change in the society. Sometimes, a little inspiration can work like magic. The Logical Indian endeavours to bring to you positive stories from around the country that have the potential to inspire everyone around us. This is the outcome of one such story.
On 15 October 2015, we published the story of a 23-year-old woman who brought about a significant change in her hometown Chennai by starting a drive called The Food Bank. With the big picture in mind of seeing a nation in which no single person goes hungry, Sneha decided to start a charity in her hometown, Chennai.
The concept of the Food Bank is quite simple: While cooking food for their families, the members of this group also cook extra food for the poor. They then inform Sneha, through Facebook or Whatsapp, once the food is packed and ready for distribution. She sends her volunteers to collect the food packets and distributes them to the street dwellers in different areas.
Food Bank reaches Pune
Sneha’s work highly influenced 25-year-old Amar Shriram after he read the article about her work on our website. Amar, who works in a Private Bank in Pune, drew inspiration and planned to do something similar in his own city. He reached out Sneha to share his noble idea.
With consultation and guidance from Sneha, Amar brought The Food Bank venture to Pune.
Kickstarting in November 2015, the Pune Chapter of Food Bank has gained popularity in the last one year by reaching out to the street dwellers in different corners of the city.
Starting off as a Facebook group, Aman has been able to bring his close friends and relatives to participate in the drive and today there are 215 members from all over Pune.
“Out of these 215 people, there are 20-30 of them who regularly participate with me in the Food Bank drive. We reach out either by Facebook or Whatsapp and then plan a day out. On that particular day we make fresh food at our homes, pack them, and go around the different corners of the city to feed the needy people. All the food offered is fresh and not leftovers,” Amar said to The Logical Indian.
The group sets aims to go on this food drive at least twice a month, particularly on Sundays. Somebody brings biscuits, somebody brings rice, while others bring sabzi, and together they set out at 10 am in the morning to donate. They go from street to street to find the homeless people, and within two hours they finish their drive.
The Food Bank in Pune has been able to reach out to more than 800 people in just 14 months and now they are planning to expand to the rural areas nearby.
The World Bank estimates that India is one of the highest-ranking countries in the world with the highest number of children suffering from malnutrition. India ranked 20th in the 2015 Global Hunger Index. In South Asia, with a GHI score of 29, India is third behind Afghanistan and Pakistan.
People like Amar are trying to bring a change for the betterment of the people. Food Bank, a small initiative by a single person, has now been able to reach different cities and villages of the country.
The Logical Indian salutes people like Amar and Sneha and wishes them all the best in their future endeavours.
As a community, we, The Logical Indian try our level best to inspire our community members with stories like these. We would encourage you to take measures of your own to see a change in the country, a change for the better.
