Chef Vikas Khanna’s Feed India initiative crosses 30 million meals
Feed India, or Barkat as Chef Vikas Khanna calls it, spread through social media when he asked his 2.3 million Twitter followers to go to orphanages, old-age homes and more to check if the residents there needed any ration and supplies.
The Feed India initiative, started under the guidance of Michelin-star Chef Vikas Khanna, has crossed 30 million meals. The noble initiative began from a single tweet by the chef in April this year and thus began a journey of feeding millions of people in need across 135 cities in India amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Born in India and having worked in New York for over 20 years, Chef Khanna decided to reach out and help people in this humanitarian crisis that’s pretty much rattled the whole world in the past few months.
In an interview with New York Times, Chef Khanna said, “We’ve totally failed our people. I wanted to show that solidarity still exists.”
He added, “My mom lives alone in Amritsar, and I thought: What if she needed help and there was no one to help her?”
Feed India, or Barkat as Chef Khanna calls it, spread through the influence of social media when he asked his 2.3 million Twitter followers to go to orphanages, old-age homes and more to check if the residents there needed any ration and supplies.
A basic kit containing ration items, hygiene essentials, sanitisers, sanitary napkins and other need-based items were packaged together and sent across institutes. The campaign has positively affected the lives of several people in need amid the pandemic.
The campaign has now crossed the 30 million-meal (cooked and dry ration) mark. Chef Khanna shared a tweet with him on the cover of Face magazine on his social media accounts.
He has also been working with the team at Robin Hood Army to facilitate the underprivileged and needy in these dire times. Sharing a few pictures of the Robin Hood Army at work, Chef Khanna said, “It fills my heart with pride when YOUTH rises with a vision.”
“I’ve been working with @rha_india team for months and it gives me so much hope to see the devotion of these young Indians. A BIG APPLAUSE!!! Thank you all for your commitment to FEEDINDIA.”
He also dedicated the 30 Millionth meal to Bollywood lyricist Manoj Muntashir with a patriotic song featuring Akshay Kumar. He said, “Today we complete 5 months of #FeedIndia with my 24/7 focus. Its now one of The World’s Largest Food Drives coordinated by an individual. Though I didn’t sleep much, but my wake up call has been TERI MITTI.”
“Dear @manojmuntashir ji I dedicate the 30 Millionth Meal to you for writing this EPIC anthem. ❤️🙏🏼 @akshaykumar,” Chef Vikas Khanna added in the post.
