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In India Communities Join the Fight to Stave Off Hunger

Anjana Pasricha

   NEW DELHI - Inside a kitchen in a housing complex in Gurugram near the
   capital New Delhi, cooks mash potatoes, season vegetables and fry an
   Indian bread called "puri" to prepare about 100 meals every day for
   families whose money has run out. The rations are bought with
   contributions from residents for whom this kitchen usually makes food.

   Supervisor Rahul Rawat makes sure it is a satisfying meal. "We make
   spicy food so that those who eat it find it tasty."

   Just a few kilometers away a couple who run a commercial kitchen that
   caters Asian food have spearheaded another community initiative that
   has grown rapidly.

   They began by preparing about 200 meals a day of rice and lentils in
   their kitchen facilities but as word spread, friends and others pitched
   in -- some supplying dry rations, others volunteering to help. That
   marked the start of the "Janta Rasoi" or "People's kitchen" that now
   provides about 2,500 meals every day.

   "We see a lot of men who would have been working but they don't have
   any means so now they are standing there. We keep getting calls --
   urgent calls," says Arjun Pandey, co founder of Janta Rasoi. "Today we
   got a call from 14 day wagers who were stuck and had not had food for
   two days."

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