There is a lot of difference in thinking about helping those in need and actually doing so, in whatever capacity one can. A trio from Bengaluru has shown the way to covert such noble thoughts into reality.

Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the first nationwide lockdown to contain COVID-19 transmission, three friends from Bengaluru - Juggy Marwaha, K Ganesh and Venkat K Narayana - launched an initiative called 'Feed My Bangalore'. Their sole aim was to look after the daily wage earners who suffered an unprecedented loss of livelihood due to the lockdown and were fighting hard to manage even a single meal each day.

Daily wagers
Daily wagersTwitter

They started the initiative in Bengaluru and simultaneously took it to Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Noida.

Stepping up for the unfortunate

The novel coronavirus lockdown had come into effect on March 25 and 'Feed My Bangalore' was in motion on March 27. All the meals are prepared in commercial kitchens in adherence to proper hygiene guidelines and the team makes sure that social distancing is followed during distribution.

One of the co-founders, Venkat K Narayana spoke about what prompted them to come up with the idea. He said, "Most of the developers, especially in Bengaluru, are very responsible as they are providing ration to their laborers at the site. The worst affected are the daily wagers who are self-employed and do not have any employers who could make such arrangements for them."

Daily wagers
Daily wagersTwitter

'Feed My Bangalore' is receiving an overwhelming response in all the cities. Narayana shared that people used to come running behind their food trucks as they had not eaten in 24-36 hours. "We gave them an assurance that it's not just a one-day affair and that we are going to be there till the lockdown is over and maybe a week longer. And now when our food trucks go for distribution, people are much disciplined and maintain social distancing," he added.

Over 7 lakh meals served so far

The team kick-started the initiative serving 500 meals per day and is now distributing over 90,000 each day. On April 16, the trio hit the 1 million mark, which is extraordinary by all means.

Keeping in view the increasing COVID-19 case count, the nationwide lockdown has been extended till May 3 and 'Feed My Bangalore' will continue their good work till the daily wagers are back on their feet.