Nirmal Food Bank feeds nearly one lakh persons in 8 years

What once started as a small feeding initiative has evolved into a ray of hope for the needy. Nirmal Food Bank was initiated, aiming to feed around 10 people every Sunday eight years ago.

Nirmal: What once started as a small feeding initiative has evolved into a ray of hope for the needy. Nirmal Food Bank was initiated, aiming to feed around 10 people every Sunday eight years ago. It has fed nearly one lakh persons so far.

“We were initially cooking food using 2 kilograms of rice and sufficient vegetables to provide food to including beggars, mentally unsound and the poor in 2015. However, we are now feeding at least 150 persons by preparing food with 40 kilograms of rice every Sunday,” Sridhar Rathod, founder of the bank told ‘Telangana Today.’

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A special assistant at a branch of union Bank in Nirmal district centre, Sridhar stumbled upon the idea of setting up the food bank after being moved by the plight of beggars and mentally unsound people who were forced to consume newspapers from dustbins on the streets due to starvation. He shared that he could commence and successfully operate the initiative with the support of his three friends and about 30 volunteers from the town.

Sridhar and his friends Guglavath Ravinder, a teacher, Bhattu Veeranna, an engineer Mamulla Ramesh, a LIC agent, all residents of Nirmal prepare food under a rented shed at Adarshnagar in the town on Sunday. They pack the food and distribute to the needy. They use motorbikes to distribute the food packets. They ensure all the beggars, mentally retarded and destitute get the packets.

Commendably, the first of its kind food bank in erstwhile Adilabad district won laurels from many by feeding 500 persons not only from Nirmal, but belonging to surrounding villages every day during the Covid-19 pandemic for three months. The organisers said they were relying upon their savings and contributions generously donated by donors from Hyderabad and NRIs to run the bank.

Sridhar disclosed that they were planning to operate the bank throughout the week to mark the completion of seven years from January 1. He said anyone could become partners of the initiative by contacting him on 96031 91980.