#issdiwalikuchachhakartehai - Donate, Don’t Waste

 

 Diwali is just around the corner and all of us are looking forward to it. Under normal circumstances, Diwali would be celebrated on a much larger scale. Due to covid, Diwali parties will be smaller, and the celebrations would be limited. Nonetheless, there are bound to be at least some gatherings. With parties, comes food. Diwali is celebrated in a lavish way in a lot of households, with buffets of food and drinks, and everyone having more than enough. Unfortunately, a lot of this food isn’t consumed, and ends up going to waste, and is ultimately dumped in landfills. All of this happens while millions of people go without food for days, because they cannot afford it. Some organizations want to help these people survive and they make sure that the excess food from the parties does not go to waste. These organizations have apps that people can use to donate their extra food and they will come and collect this food from you and will donate it to the needy. So here are some of such apps:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seva Kitchen is one of the most brilliant organizations that provide food to the needy, but taking donations from places like parties, events, weddings, etc. This app can be used as both, a donor or a receiver. You can use this app the next time you think you have excess food that is going to go to waste, you can use this app to donate it. This organization was founded in Nagpur by Khushroo Paocha. Seva Kitchen also donates to hospital patients who cannot get food for themselves, in the rural areas. They are doing an amazing job and definitely deserve more recognition!

 

 

For the prevention of food wastage, Nasscom Foundation and the Food regulator FSSAI collaborated to do the same. They have made an app to food donor with food distributors or similar organizations. They have a 24/7 helpline number available. According to Pawan Agarwal, the CEO of FSSAI, this initiative is to bring forward the existing food donation organizations and make them more known. This is one of the best steps taken towards the ones in need of food, and is an extremely thoughtful way of providing it. Around 81 food donation organizations had registered to this app, including the Indian Food Sharing Alliance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This organization was founded by Padmanaban Gopalam in the October of 2014 when they decided to take care of the problem of hunger in our country. It is an app for both donors and receivers, and also has a hotline number. Their entire team of volunteers search for marriage halls, ceremonies, events for any extra food remaining. Then they repackage the food and then distribute it to the underprivileged. You can also get in contact with any of their volunteers and they come and collect the food from you, and then drop it off to the hunger spots located. Their headquarters lie in Coimbatore.

 

 

 

 This is a food donation app, by an organization founded in Indore. Here, people can connect to other organizations and NGO’s that distribute it to the ones in need of it. Regular donors, as well as caterers and hoteliers can also donate with this app. anyone with surplus food can make good use of this app. It works in Madhya Pradesh as well as other parts of the country. A lot of weddings and parties also use this app to donate their leftover cooked food.

Besides for these apps, there are several other NGO’s and other similar organizations that make sure to deliver food to the ones in need of it. Another app called OIio does similar work, where they make sure no food goes to waste in the neighborhood. The initiative taking by Zomato for starting Feeding India was a great one. Here, they collect donations in the form of money to help the unprivileged children of India. Many other such noble organizations exist in India, and you should definitely use it to help out the ones in need. The next time you have a party and left with surplus food, and are wondering what to do with it, do not let it go to waste. Instead, use one of these apps, and make someone else’s Diwali the best one yet!