Have you ever wondered what happens to all that extra food that remains at the end of a wedding? Well, three years ago, so did 22-year-old Ankit Kawatra after he witnessed a large amount of food being thrown away at a wedding that he attended. This prompted him to quit his corporate job and start Feeding India, a not-for-profit organisation that actively works towards solving problems of hunger, malnutrition and food wastage, primarily by redistributing leftover food from restaurants, canteens and households to the people in need.
For his exceptional work in transforming the lives of others and making a difference in society, the now 25-year-old was recently awarded the Queen’s Young Leaders Award in the UK. He was also selected as one of the 17 United Nations Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals in 2016 to raise awareness about the UN’s goals, and was recently featured as a Forbes 30 under 30 honouree. We caught up with Ankit to chat about his organisation and his hope for the future. Excerpts:
How did you feel when you heard that you'd won the Young Leaders Award?
It’s an honour to be selected as the Queen's Young Leader and represent India. I believe that hunger can be ended and this award gives me nothing but motivation to work harder towards zero hunger for all. The award comes as a sign of recognition, not just for me, but for our collective work and as a tribute to all the Hunger Heroes who work with Feeding India to make ours a hunger-free world. This is dedicated to everyone who works to fight against hunger.
Do you think your recognition on an international platform will put India's hunger problem on the map and would it help you get funds from international sources?
Being recognised as a Young Leader would open up innumerable doors and enable me to meet and learn from some of the top business leaders and social activists. It offers invaluable opportunities to share ideas with a worldwide network of young social leaders dedicated to implementing positive and enduring social change in their communities.
How did you feel when you heard that you'd won the Young Leaders Award?
It’s an honour to be selected as the Queen's Young Leader and represent India. I believe that hunger can be ended and this award gives me nothing but motivation to work harder towards zero hunger for all. The award comes as a sign of recognition, not just for me, but for our collective work and as a tribute to all the Hunger Heroes who work with Feeding India to make ours a hunger-free world. This is dedicated to everyone who works to fight against hunger.
Do you think your recognition on an international platform will put India's hunger problem on the map and would it help you get funds from international sources?
Being recognised as a Young Leader would open up innumerable doors and enable me to meet and learn from some of the top business leaders and social activists. It offers invaluable opportunities to share ideas with a worldwide network of young social leaders dedicated to implementing positive and enduring social change in their communities.
Why is this initiative close to your heart?
I witnessed food for 5,000 people being wasted at a single wedding in Delhi. It was a celebrity wedding; there were 10,000 guests and 35+ cuisines. I wondered what would happen to so much food, so I decided to stay back. What I witnessed next shocked me; heaps of leftover food was thrown straight into the bin (which could have fed 5,000 people just that single night). I found it (and still find it) unacceptable that there are millions of people who die because they cannot afford a plate of food, let alone proper nutritious food. My year-long experience of having served as the president of my college’s Rotaract Club also came back to me. After graduation, I started my career in a global business advisory firm where I was involved in research and communications for two years. After the wedding incident, I decided to quit and do something about the food wastage scene in India. When I discussed the idea behind Feeding India with my colleagues and friends, I wasn't met with the enthusiasm I had hoped for. I was just 22 years old when I started and I had no experience or professional training in the social sector. In late 2014, I was able to convince five people in my network to volunteer and that’s when Feeding India took off. I partnered with caterers in the city and donated their excess food to beneficiaries who could not earn for themselves.
How did you fund the initiative when you first started out?
All my savings lie in Feeding India. My aim is to set up a sustainable funding model where we can achieve our mission of #ZeroHunger and at the same time, work smoothly. We have very recently hired our first batch of full-time recruits. We are looking for corporates and individual donors to adopt the various projects we have.
How are you increasing awareness against wasting food?
We regularly conduct events and campaigns where we raise awareness against food wastage and encourage people to donate it to Feeding India. The #BeAHungerHero global movement (10 day-long charity drive across India every World Food Day), Back to Bachpan, #70Strong are a few campaigns that we have organised. We have also encouraged people from the food industry like celebrity chefs (Chef Ritu Dalmia, Chef Manjit Gill), TV personalities (Mayur Sharma, NDTV’s Highway On My Plate), food bloggers, and restaurateurs to come together for this cause. Chhoti Si Asha and Save My Love are campaigns where these personalities can urge their followers to not waste food and donate the excess to the needy.
The government wants restaurants to reduce portion sizes. Do you think the idea will help eradicate food wastage?
The law proposed by Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Consumer Affairs, who has taken the first step to curb food wastage in India, merely states that the restaurants should be transparent about the portion size of the dishes on the menu. This will definitely encourage customers to order responsibly and curb food wastage on an individual level. More than just a law (proposed), it shows that the government has accepted that food wastage is a problem which needs to be addressed. It is high time that India brings Good Samaritan laws for food donation, which provides basic legal protection to donors.
What challenges did you face while starting Feeding India?
Earlier, stakeholders would shy away at the thought of a 22-year-old asking them to change their age-old habits. I would be rejected almost everywhere. But I always thought of the end results and somehow convinced people to donate their food. Then, more people joined me and I was lucky to have young energetic people around me.
What are your expansion plans?
Since we have crossed the eight-million mark, we aim to serve 100-million meals and reach 10,000 volunteers by 2020, not just by striking strategic partnerships, but also by acting as a catalyst of engaging the masses to step up and take action against common problems. I aim to achieve the 100-million mark with a network of 10,000 Hunger Heroes in 100 cities of India. I am also planning to involve the private and public sector more to start various programmes to achieve the #ZeroHunger goal.
