Students of this Delhi school bring an extra packet of lunch every day to feed the needy

Until a couple of days back, before the schools in Delhi had closed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, this is how the life of a regular student of Modern Public School used to be like - They would enter the school's premises with two sets of packed lunch, one of which gets dropped inside a box, kept in front of the school's entrance.

Now, the number of rotis in both lunches may not be the same. The one that gets dropped in the box, most of the time, would have more rotis. After all, it is meant to feed the poor and hungry of Delhi. The box is an initiative of Roti Bank, a Delhi-based NGO, set up to fight India's hunger problem. Six years ago, the school's management tied up with the NGO and since then, every teacher and student contributes to the box every day.

"Once all the teachers and students are done dropping off the extra packet of lunch, a volunteer from the NGO comes to the school and collects it. It is later distributed to the needy," says the school's principal Alka Kapur. "There is no upper or lower limit, the students can donate as many rotis as they please. In case a parent or a teacher is busy, they have the option to alternatively donate packets of biscuits or fresh fruits to the box. The only mandate is to donate fresh food and not leftovers," she says.

Kapur says that the initiative was well-received by all the parents and teachers. "Prior to this, we also ran initiatives, where the students could donate fruits and vegetables to the needy on particular days. The whole purpose was to teach them to share," she says.

However, the donation has come to a standstill currently, since the school's closure owing to the pandemic. "It is really sad that we can't make regular donations these days. But social distancing is a necessity. So, we have asked students and teachers who have birthdays and anniversaries coming up in the next few days, to cook extra food rather than throwing a party and donate it to the roti bank," she says.