Food wastage is a major issue in Indian cities, including Chennai. The Public Foundation has come up with an initiative to combat this problem — Ayyamittu Unn, which was inaugurated on August 20. As part of this initiative, a community fridge has been placed near the tennis court at Besant Nagar. The idea behind this is: People can place items in the fridge for the benefit of the underprivileged.
Over 100 people have donated, since the community fridge opened this week.
“I have come across many people starving for food. It is not because of lack of food. Most of the time, we have excess food that is dumped. This is because we don’t know what to do with it. We started this community fridge to serve the needy,” said Dr. Issa Fathima Jasmine, director of The Public Foundation.
There is also a charity counter along with the fridge where books, toys and other such items can be donated.
“I always feel bad when I throw away excess food. I had a doubt if people would accept the food if I give to them directly, so I throw it. This community fridge is a great initiative. For the last one week, I have been donating excess food,” said Ganapathy, a resident of the area.
The electricity for the fridge is taken from a connection at the tennis court. There is also a watchman to keep a check on the food and other materials that are donated. All donations are noted in a separate register for reference.
“We have started this only in Besant Nagar. We would like to have more branches, but we need support,” said Jasmine. Ayyamittu Unn is open all days, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
For more details, call 9884466228 or email thepublicfoundation
@gmail.com
