Fewer takers for food from community kitchens

Only one unit functional in Kozhikode

Fifty-two days since their inception, community kitchens in the Kozhikode Corporation have distributed food packets to over 5 lakh people.

What was once a network of 12 kitchens in the city has now been reduced to just one at Nadakkavu thanks to the drastic fall in demand for meals during the Ramadan month.

Community kitchens initially catered for the destitute, migrant labourers, and those who were stranded in the city in the initial days of the lockdown. An average of 11,000 food packets used to be distributed a day then.

However, the distribution of free ration and grocery kits severely dented the demand for cooked food, bringing down the number of food packets being distributed to 6,000 a day. The service was then restricted to those without any incentives.

With the commencement of the Ramadan season, the demand dropped further. Still, over 2,000 food packets were distributed from the kitchen at Nadakkavu on Sunday.

Initially, community kitchens catered for more than 12,000 migrant labourers. They were provided grocery kits later. Around 1,600 of them have returned to their native places, while more than 50% of the remaining labourers were engaged in work of late.

For the record, the centralised collection centre for community kitchens at Tagore Centenary Hall received groceries and vegetables worth around ₹40 lakh in the last 50 days. Besides, nearly ₹8 lakh has been deposited in the special bank account opened for the purpose.

Several voluntary organisations such as Hotel and Restaurant Association, Shanthi Catering, Thali Brahmanasamooham, Rotary Club, Calicut Disaster Management, and Forlife Charitable Society too joined hands with the corporation in managing the kitchens.

The kitchens run by the Kudumbashree alone distributed more than 12,000 food packets during this period.