Mumbai: This National Youth week, Feeding From Far, a unique hunger-alleviation initiative provided respite to 7000 families in Machhimar Nagar as it hosted its first distribution drive for the year. With 2,50,000 meals being distributed each fortnight, the campaign that caters to slum dwellings in the city such as Dharavi, Govandi, and Machhimar Nagar hit a milestone of 33 lakhs meals this month. The beneficiaries are families and widows who were worst hit by COVID-19 and are still battling economically due to the slowdown caused by the pandemic.
The 150-strong volunteer-driven community welfare programme aims to empower youth to take a step towards social development and make social welfare inclusive and intended. It strives to make it a commonplace among them deromanticizing hunger-relief efforts as the need of the hour.
With the growth in contribution by 22 per cent in the last year, Feeding From Far has witnessed an increased vigour for social giving among Indian youth between the age of 21 – 35 years.
With a hope to spur the mindset of the younger generation and ignite the spirit of generosity and social development among them, Feeding From Far endeavours to incite people into action by aiding them with digital support to transform their intent into action. The goal is to get the community and privileged sections of society to join in and contribute through volunteering and funds.
Says 31-year-old Founder, Paritosh Pant, Feeding From Far, “India stands at the 107th position in the Hunger Index and the COVID outbreak further widened the inequality metrics making it all the more necessary for us to work towards the development of the citizens across the nation. The youth of any country is the biggest asset to the nation and with India possessing one of the largest populations of young citizens across the world, it is time that we mandate social development efforts across institutions and corporates and encourage youngsters to take the onus of the society. I truly believe that the youth of India have the power to transform our homeland and if we take conscious efforts to be ‘change-makers’ in our own right, we can soon become an example of unity and ‘collective’ development for the rest of the world. An idea that became an instant reality during the lockdown, I am proud that we’ve been able to sustain our outreach and pose strong as weapons of hunger-destruction among the voices lost and forgotten in the last two years. Our continuity plan is bringing succour to families still reeling from the aftermath of the pandemic and we are already stretching our wings to newer territories such as Thane, Mulund, Mumbra, Kalwa, Nallasopara, and Kalyan. We are working towards building a digital product and decentralising the sector to enable youth to emerge as everyday superheroes in their own communities.”
The longest-running COVID-19 initiative, Feeding From Far took birth in 2020 to feed and bring meals to those who were severely affected by the pandemic. It is fronted by social entrepreneur Paritosh, the man behind the now shut but first-of-its-kind ‘Too Much Drama’ cafe that was run by hearing-impaired staff.
