Troubled to see the amount of food being wasted in the big, fat Indian weddings, management graduate Ankit Kawatra, 24-year-old came up with the solution to redistribute it among the hungry. Kawatra, who left his corporate job to start ‘Feeding India’, is among the 17 people selected for the inaugural class of UN Young Leaders for Sustainable Development Goals for his initiative. He speaks on his initiative and much more.
Q How did it all start? When did you get an idea of starting this NGO?
After graduation, I started my career in a global business advisory firm where I was involved in research and communications for two years, until I witnessed food for 5,000 people being wasted at a single wedding in Delhi. It was a celebrity wedding, there were 10,000 people invited and 35+ cuisines of food. I wondered what would happen to so much food and decided to stay back. What I witnessed next shocked me, heaps of leftover food was thrown straight into the bin which could have fed 5000 people just that single night. Over the next few weeks, I did some research on the problem of hunger and food waste in India. The thought of food going to waste in a country which has the highest number of undernourished people appalled me and left me wondering why no one had stepped up to take action yet. My colleagues and friends thought the idea of ‘charity’ should be left to other conventional groups of the society, they also pointed out the end of my management career if I chose to continue this work. One night, with no guidance or second opinions, I decided that if no one else was going to help solve the national problems, it might as well be me who solves it. I was 22 when I quit my corporate job to start Feeding India.
Q How has this NGO worked since its inception?
I believe that national problems are everyone’s responsibility, and sustainable solutions can be built by commoners with due planning. The hunger challenge should be addressed by the people together. Due to this reason I decided to engage the youth of the country in solving this issue. Feeding India is a youth-run not for profit that works towards solving hunger and malnutrition in India, by mainly redistributing excess food from weddings, corporates, canteens, banquets, households, etc. to people in need. We have fed 1 million meals with a network of 2,000 volunteers across 28 cities of India.
Q What do you think has been the key factor for your selection for this prestigious inclusion? Who were the other nominations from India?
The UN has recognised me for my leadership and contribution to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Goals to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice by 2030. I was selected from more than 18,000 nominations from 186 countries.
Q How do you think the issue of hunger will be resolved in India?
My learnings and experiences during his interactions at the 71st General Assembly Elections will help me better direct and mobilize the country's youth to solve hunger through Feeding India. Since hunger is not a problem only faced by India, understanding how other countries are tackling this issue in their own country and also the role played by governments, private businesses, social activists, civic bodies, etc will help me make a more informed decisions towards better utilization of resources. I will be able to device systematic development programmes and campaigns for the needy in India while sharing his results and experiences with much more experienced organizations at the global level. Also, I will be able to act as the voice of the youth in India on the global stage representing the country and getting support from international agencies.
Q Mention some projects undertaken by this NGO?
Feeding India has run several projects in the past 2 years of its inception. Many are directly solving the problem of hunger and malnutrition in the country whereas others are aimed at spreading awareness.
Q What would be the future course of action?
During my sessions at the UN headquarters and 71st General assembly, I have helped draft a plan to achieve the SDGs in the coming year. This will be presented to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other senior levels at United Nations. Post its approval, I will start working towards Hunger and Malnutrition in new innovative ways, advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals, promote innovative ways of engaging young people in the advocacy and realization of the Goals, and contribute to a brain trust of young leaders supporting the UN and partners.
To curb hunger and malnutrition in India:
The Magic Truck: A 24/7 refrigerated vehicle which moves around the city collecting and donating excess food.
Feeding programmes: We have adopted many donation centers, self-run schools and shelter homes for children, elderly and specially abled. Feeding Indi provides them nutritious well balanced meals.
To Spread Awareness
Hyperlocal donation drives: We encourage the masses to come out and participate. A few examples of events are Feeding India World Food Week(week long charity drive across India 10-16 October), Back to bachpan, #70strong.
Food community: We have encouraged people from the food community to come together and spread awareness about this initiative. Celebrity chefs (chef Ritu Dalmia, chef Manjit Gill), (Mayur Sharma, highway on my plate), food bloggers, restaurateurs have come together to help solve the issue. Chotti si Aasha and Save My Love are a few events conducted by Feeding India where these people urged their followers to not waste food.