Specialised, Selfless Service: Dehradun NGO serves different food preferences in tiffin service
The Shri Nityanand Swami Jan Seva Samiti in Dehradun has been running a tiffin service since 27th April 2021 to support communities in Dehradun as the city copes with the Second Wave of COVID-19. Rather than a one-size fits all menu, the menu fits the needs of the people on a case-by-case feedback basis, thus putting the needs of the individual above the providing a generic service while making nearly 180 meals a day.
Unlike most commercial restaurants and services, the NGO takes into account the religious, medical, and personal backgrounds of all those who order the food from them. Each dietary preference has food made accordingly which is then delivered to the homes that require the specialised diet.
“We realised that people have dietary restrictions and preferences that many cafes and restaurants cannot fulfil or meet based on religion, tastes, medical conditions, and time. . . Our motive: helping families have a nutritious meal while taking these preferences into account so that they have a speedy recovery. Our only inspiration is to provide aid and help to those who cannot help themselves. Our wider perspective is that society is our family and it's important to us that we help our family.” Vinayak said.
Vinayak Sharma Swami, President of the Youth Wing (JAI) and volunteer working in the tiffin service was the mind behind the tiffin service. Operating it with the help of his family out of the Swami household in Malviya Nagar, he explains the necessity of establishing boundaries.
“To provide fresh meals to everyone, and to fulfil everyone’s requirements effectively, we restricted the delivery service to a 5km radius [Malviya Nagar and surrounding areas; Panditwadi near IMA, Vasant Vihar, Indra Nagar, GMS Road, Majra, Clementown, Niranjanpur, Race Course, Chandan Nagar, Patri Bagh, Patel Nagar, Dehra Khas, Tehsil Chowk, Raja Road, Chakkuwala, Tagorevilla, Chakrata, Ballupur, Lakshman Chowk]. If the area is limited, we’ll be able to pay better attention to the requirements and preferences of those individuals who are on the delivery roster. We have jumped over the 5km radius many times over the past month because some people could not find food elsewhere, and they were in dire need of it. As a result, we went till 11-12 km [Jakhan, Rajpur Road, Canal Road, Raipur, Dallanwala, Jogiwala, Niyawala, Bangali Kothi, Pithuwala] to deliver the food. If there is anyone who cannot fulfill their meal requirements and lay a bit outside the delivery radius, we take care of their food needs as well”, Vinayak stipulated in his statement.
A self-funded initiative, the NGO’s tiffin service is being run by volunteers and heads of the NGO who prepare and deliver 40-60 meals at a time - making up to 180 meals a day. Taking all health and safety precautions into consideration, the ingredients required to make the food are sanitised when bought, and later washed before food preparation. The food is then hygienically prepared by Vice President Smt. Jyotsna Sharma who is supported by her husband, and daughter Geetika Sharma, the Joint Secretary of the NGO.
Packing is done in reusable plastic boxes for the families reuse. Spill-proof, reusable boxes are used as they are easier to handle for the volunteers, and are versatile when it comes to handling both solid and liquid foods. As is with the food, the packaging is sanitised after purchase and the boxes are washed before they are packed with food and delivered.
The food is then delivered by volunteers from within the NGO who along with the cooks preparing the food, ensure double-masking and regular sanitising at every step of the service. Once they pick up the tiffins from the family’s home on Malviya Road, they deliver the tiffins using their personal vehicles with limited vehicular permits the city of Dehradun has given to them to perform the tiffin service. Maintaining social distancing at all times, this makes for a no-contact delivery service that safeguards everyone involved.
So far, the tiffin service has been providing food to homes under quarantine due to being infected with COVID-19, COVID and dialysis patients in nearby hospitals, and anyone else falling within the 5km radius who cannot step outside their home to get household necessities. Majority of the NGO’s diners are elderly couples who live alone in Dehradun as their children live in different states: at least 9 - 10 of the families they serve on a daily basis. The availability of tiffin services like Shri Nityanand Swami’s to extremely vulnerable parts of the community is more important than ever because of this.
When talking about his inspiration behind starting the tiffin service, Vinayak talked about how the NGO had already been providing food before formalising the launch and opening the tiffin service to all in Dehradun, and revealed that:
“The food service already existed before we transformed it into a community outreach service because we were doing it for family and friends. Then we realised that there were a lot more people whose needs needed to be taken care of and that they are unable to do it themselves. That is when we started the food delivery service of home-cooked food for COVID patients and their attendants. Attendants were included from the very beginning itself because their duties and responsibilities to COVID patients are important and we must support them too. . . We had the capacity to expand our reach and help others and so we did.”
Having completed a month of providing the tiffin service on 27th May, they have expanded their menu to accommodate all sorts of dietary requirements. Some of the requirements are: to eat before sunset, following religious practices; food without onion and garlic; food with minimal/no salt to cater high BP patients; food with no rice and potatoes and more of green vegetables to cater to people with sugar problems; food without pulses to cater to patients suffering with issues of uric acid; and liquid diet for COVID patients at hospitals and home-quarantine in the form of soup and dals/pulses.
Advised by Dr. Ashutosh Mathur through telephonic conversations, Shri Nityanand Swami JSS’s team incorporates nutritious home-cooked meals that provide a balanced diet with dishes such as Palak Kofta, Gatte ki Sabji, Loki Chane ki Dal, Palak Paneer, Green Vegetables, Dal Soup, and Vegetable Soup. The NGO was advised that rice was to be avoided when showing symptoms of a cold; include spinach, besan, chana, arhar, moong ki daal, keep amount of rice low in khichdi and include more daal, paneer was recommended 2-3 a week, and lots of green vegetable to be added for food delivery at homes. Food for the delivery at hospitals was prepared based on guidelines implemented by doctors at the hospitals themselves.
Many sources such as WHO and Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences attest to the fact that a healthy and balanced diet helps boost the immune system: one of the many ways we can take precautions against COVID-19 and help people recover from the virus.
Through social media and efficient networking through the NGO’s members and volunteers, the news of their service spread fast and wide. Reaching out to people through Whatsapp and posts on Instagram and Facebook attracted many households in need to contact them, making for busy schedules.
“40 - 60 meals are being prepared and delivered every mealtime. When the demand is great, we sometimes cross the 60 benchmark. Ever since we started, we have never dropped below 25 meals. In one month, our experience has been excellent. The people’s response to our catering and delivery service has been overwhelming. People are very satisfied and they have relished the meals they have been getting. We have been getting a very good response from the people. A few of them have passed around our number and word of our services and many more have been ordering as well. People are very satisfied with the quality of food and the delivery service.”
Ms. Navjyoti Singhal, 29 and an Assistant Professor at Tula’s Institute is one of the many who order food through the tiffin service. Being the only one who had not gotten COVID in her household of 5 people, she was the sole caregiver for her family. As a result, she ordered simple food without any spices through the service for 15 days. In an interview, she gave glowing feedback regarding the tiffin service:
“The food was very healthy and sufficient for medical recovery. It [the food] strictly adhered to the conditions of the patients. They were able to meet the specialised requirements of the food, and their help was impressive as it recovered my family from COVID-19. The quality was really good, except they can add salad to provide all nutrients. The food service actually helped me a lot in many ways, as far as the health is concerned my family is totally recovered and doing fine with the meals that NGO has provided.
When questioned about the challenges they faced as they started the service, Vinayak replied:
“The day-to-day procurement of ingredients was one of the first problems we encountered because we are buying everything in bulk and the city is in lockdown to start with. The number of people we were servicing was initially a logistical issue because we are not a food chain and this project is something that is new and different for us in terms of the bulk production of food being made while keeping in mind the preferences of people. Every other person has a different preference, and so we are preparing around 15-16 different kinds of meals at the same time which have to be delivered within the same timeframe, on time. We were covering all neighbourhoods within a 5 km radius , and sometimes beyond as well, which was at times challenging. Still, we continued and coped with it with a minimum number of people involved in the process for the safety of the people and the people ordering the food.”
Many NGOs and volunteers such as Zindagi Zindabad and Tulsi Foundation food, milk packets and kits of essential commodities in Rudrapur. They also sanitise homes and provide relief to daily wagers, beggars, domestic helpers, and the like. These organisations, with help from local law enforcement, and locals who have helped raise funds are a few of the many whose efforts have helped thousands of people across Uttarakhand and India. It is in their spirit of selfless service that we find our inspiration and motivation to help others, and support everyone through this pandemic.
Works Cited:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7306972/
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