The May edition of Rotary News carried “Feed All in Need” as the lead story. The article created ripples in the Rotary world and praise started coming in from all quarters for the good work done by Rotary Club of Mumbai Queen’s Necklace (the “Club”).It was, by far one of the largest projects of its kind done in the Rotary world for disaster relief. While the project was on there was no breathing space to even comprehend the magnitude of what the Club had achieved.The project, spread over 60 days starting from 30th March 2020, in fact, went on to close with a mind numbing amount of Rs. 14 Crores spent on feeding the hungry.

So, how did it all begin and how did it take shape?

It was a chance conversation one morning quite soon after the lockdown was announced in Maharashtra. Some of the Rotarians and their friends were voicing their concern about the turbulent times we were in thanks to COVID 19, words which four months ago existed only in medical journals and have probably become the most searched words of the Oxford dictionary since, and what could we, as Rotarians, do to help those less fortunate.

Rotarians are genetically hardwired to cope with environmental contingencies. And so, the “COVID

Warriors” swung into action, quickly deciding that the biggest collateral damage of the lockdown was going to be the hundreds of thousands of daily wage earners who were suddenly reduced to penury and brought to the brink of hunger and starvation. The “Feed All In Need” project was born and started taking shape. The project which started with supporting someone’s modest attempt to feed 5000 people daily quickly metamorphosed into a massive concerted effort, involving most of the members of the Rotary Club of Mumbai Queen’s Necklace, to feed up to 1,60,000 meals daily to the less privileged.

And so, dear friends, this is the story for posterity…

FEEDALL INNEED

THE GENESISThe Rotary ISKCON 12,000 ft.² kitchen at Mahul, Chembur- a project which Rtn. PP Sanjiv Mehta initiated in his tenure as Club President in 2013-14 and which had existed only as a concept on paper for more than six years had finally received its last required permission in November 2019

and by December 2019 , 65,000 mid -day Khichdi meals were being cooked daily and served to municipal school children in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

In expectation of the dangers of the COVID 19 pandemic, schools were shut down in January 2020. This led to the shutting down of three ISKCON kitchens in Mumbai (Wada, Mira Road and Mahul) which totally had a capacity of cooking more than 2,00,000 khichdi meals daily.

As lock down 1.0 was declared, it was but a natural fallout that Rtn. PP Sanjiv Mehta decided to start by feeding 1000 Khichdi meals a day to those affected by the situation. This action was supplemented one day later by Mahanagar Gas Ltd. who stepped in to sponsor 3000 more meals. By the fourth day the Miracles in Action team leader Rtn. Nikunj Jhaveri was roped in and the rest, one can simply say, was divine grace.

The Miracles in Action team of the Club was created with the sole goal of conceptualising and enabling actions which, for the recipient of the service, is nothing short of a miracle. No sooner did the Miracles team decide to ramp up the project with the inherent capacity available to make Khichdi, the need for funds and the capability to deliver on the ground became the next two most important factors to roll this

wagon out. The members of the Rotary club of Mumbai Queen’s necklace just needed their trademark clarion WhatsApp appeal call to fund the project.

Over a period of seven days the members raised Rs. 42 Lakhs from their own resources and supplemented that over the following two weeks with another Rs. 3.5 crores from family,

friends and corporate business associates. A never before pandemic saw a never before response of fund raising. An army of 175 Rotarians and their spouses reached out far and wide and senior members and new members alike pitched in and reached deep into their pockets.

On the other hand, Rtn. PP Sanjiv Mehta and Rtn. Nikunj Jhaveri immediately called for reinforcements. It was evident that this battle was going to be a long drawn one and would need every resource available. Miracles team leader Rtn. Rohan Shah stranded in Dubai joined the battle from overseas along with Rtn. Vijay Shah and President-Elect Rtn. Sneha Pathak under the able support of President Rtn. Sonal Jhaveri. The COVID Warriors were on fire and willing to face the challenge head on.

Rtn. Sneha Pathak introduced Mr Asif Porbanderwala to the team. A senior functionary of the Aga Khan Development Trust, Asif is closely connected with two calamity food distribution specialist NGOs namely NESH ( Nobody Ever Sleeps Hungry) and Chhoti Si Aasha. These NGO groups were created by Mr. Zohair Diwan of Giants international, Byculla with the sole intention of coming together as and when calamity strikes. They became the first feet on the ground for this gigantic project. With each team member reaching out to various NGOs on the ground it was but a matter of days before alliances were forged and a web of more than 12 distribution partners was created.

Pretty soon Art Of Living , TISS , Mumbai Responds, Khaana Chahiye , YMCA Mumbai , Feed my Mumbai , Roti Ghar and many more action groups, who till date were unknown to us and to each other, all got together like Robinhood and his band of merry men. Having started from areas close to home like Colaba , Nagpada , Parel and Sion the distribution of meals, under the project now aptly named “Feed All in Need” spread up to Palghar. Each NGO systematically

identified pockets of need and set up their own methods of distribution of meals in the most judicious manner.

THE FUNDING EFFORTA simple appeal for funds on WhatsApp kick started the fund raising drive on 23rd March 2020. The first week saw commitments of Rs. 42 Lakhs. As one week turned into two,

the clarion call picked up momentum and members started generously committing to the cause. Very soon, the senior members of the Club threw their weight behind this project and started tapping their family, clients and corporate contacts to bring in the large donations.

An equally important part of the Core team was the Finance team ably led by Treasurer Rtn. Rakesh Upadhyaya who diligently updated donation commitments, receipts, payments made to vendors etc on a daily basis and ensured that money never became a stumbling block in the operations.

As the lockdown 1.0 continued into 2.0 and then 3.0, the team witnessed serpentine queues for food everywhere. “Feed All In Need” had by now reached a staggering 1,00,000 meals a day. It was now evident to the team that the big guns would have to be summoned to ramp up the fund collection in order to sustain this project. Accordingly, Rtn. Vijay Shah and Rtn. PP Sanjiv Mehta (both of whom are advisors to “Annamrita” - the brand name under which the ISKCON mid-day meal activity operates) decided to approach Mr. Ajay Piramal, Chairman of Piramal Enterprises, who is one of the biggest benefactors of “Annamrita”.

The power of the big guns was unleashed in full force. Mr. Ajay Piramal swung into action and the Club saw the might of his commitment to help us. He first helped us raise Rs. 80 Lakhs from HSBC Bank. He then connected us with Mr Amit Chandra, Chairman of Bain Consulting and his team, who immediately donated Rs. 25 Lakhs. He also arranged for Mr Chhatwal, MD of

TajSATS Flight Kitchen to sponsor 20,000 meals per day to supplement the project. By now Mr. Amit Chandra was also totally committed to the cause and he brought in Give India who donated Rs. 1 Crore. The campaign really got a boost when low profile

donors such as the Harish Beena Shah (HBS) Foundation unexpectedly gave a whopping Rs.50 Lakh donation.

Whilst the Miracles team really appreciated the help flowing in, what really touched their hearts were donations that came from the lesser privileged and the younger generation. A peon in a member’s office sent Rs.105 towards 5 meals. Children and nieces and nephews of Rotarians pitched in with their savings and allowances.

Around mid April Mr. Ajay Piramal brought Reliance Foundation into the picture and their in-house company Reliance Retail immediately sanctioned all groceries needed at the three Annamrita kitchens free of cost of the value of Rs.2 Crores.

This gesture doubled the capacity of providing Khichdi meals and The Miracles team went in overdrive and started serving 1,6,00,00 meals per day. With distribution happening from Colaba to Palghar with more than 400 volunteers on the ground the scale of the project became overwhelming.

THE KITCHENPARTNERSWhilst “Feed All In Need” started with khichdi meals being produced at the kitchens of Annamrita, the Core team quickly reached out to, and brought in other kitchen partners / caterers namely Popular, Foodlink, Thackers, Blue Sea, AB’s Kitchen, NESCO, Lakhani, Modern and Serena. Bringing multiple kitchens on board ensured that all their eggs were not in one basket. Popular, Foodlink, Thackers and Blue Sea caterers led by example by offering some meals per day free and all other meals at cost. In the ramp up from 4,000 to 1,60,000 this unrestricted support gave wind to the Miracles team wings. The kitchens and their

staff ably supported the drive by providing meals every day without a break for 60 days.

They say practice maketh perfect. The Annamrita project has run for 14 years

making six types of khichdis day in and day out, year on year. What seemed to be just a basic khichdi became the helpline, foodline and lifeline of those daily wage workers. Even salaried employees, now out of jobs, used to

buying their own food, were forced to join the queues to pick up the now famous khichdi packets from the local NGOs and volunteers around the corner.

The Core team put themselves in the shoes of the people eating khichdi every day and tried to give them a change of taste at least one day a week by providing variety like “Poori Bhaji”, “Vada Pav” and different types of Pulaos. People were excited about getting these but ultimately nothing could replace the wholesome, nourishing khichdi which, at times, was the only meal of the day.

Supplier From To Meals (Nos.)

Annamrita Wada 12-Apr-20 21-May-20 1,568,400

Annamrita Mahul 30-Mar-20 2-May-20 1,177,170

Annamrita Mira Rd 5-Apr-20 31-May-20 652,200

Chhoti si Asha 4-Apr-20 31-May-20 554,500

NESCO 5-May-20 31-May-20 511,540

Modern 16-Apr-20 31-May-20 239,223

Serena 15-Apr-20 31-May-20 237,890

Food Link 30-Mar-20 28-Apr-20 167,000

Taj Stats 31-Mar-20 8-Apr-20 155,000

Govardhan 6-Apr-20 20-Apr-20 137,000

Thackers 5-Apr-20 17-May-20 125,000

AB's Kitchen 10-Apr-20 22-Apr-20 125,705

Popular 30-Mar-20 17-May-20 94,862

Nilesh 15-May-20 31-May-20 85,000

Al Amdar 13-Apr-20 6-May-20 61,796

PNP Foods 20-May-20 31-May-20 56,000

Blue Sea 10-Apr-20 21-Apr-20 40,000

Foodbox 15-May-20 30-May-20 19,500

Annamrita Coopers 4-Apr-20 5-Apr-20 1,800

Lakhani 7,000

Others 50,000

Total 6,066,586

Sr. Distributors From To Meals

1 NESH 30-Mar-20 31-May-20 28,82,916

2 Art of Living 12-Apr-20 28-May-20 12,37,350

3 Aunness 5-Apr-20 31-May-20 2,64,450

4 Feed My Mumbai 15-Apr-20 31-May-20 1,87,200

5 Abhijit Samson 29-Apr-20 31-May-20 1,44,900

6 Govardhan 6-Apr-20 20-Apr-20 1,37,000

7 Mira Road Collector 19-Apr-20 14-May-20 60,000

8 RSS, Govandi 29-Apr-20 2-May-20 15,000

9 RSS, Kashimira 29-Apr-20 24-May-20 63,000

10 Setu Charitable Trust 4-Apr-20 31-May-20 89,550

11 Chhaya, Navi Mumbai 4-Apr-20 28-Apr-20 68,200

12 Nilesh, Malad 15-May-20 31-May-20 85,000

13 OLM (Dr. Veda) 6-Apr-20 26-May-20 71,100

14 Project Mumbai 4-Apr-20 31-May-20 79,150

15 Ravishankar Modi 6-Apr-20 3-May-20 84,000

16 Roti Ghar, Sion 5-Apr-20 27-May-20 1,67,760

17 Roti Ghar, Vikhroli / Chembur / Navi Mumbai 29-Apr-20 23-May-20 35,400

18 Roti Ghar, Migrants 14-May-20 30-May-20 22,500

19 Satish Vora, Bhiwandi 18-Apr-20 10-May-20 19,500

20 Shrimad Rajchandra Trust 19-May-20 31-May-20 36,225

21 Varsha Gaikwad 11-Apr-20 4-May-20 21,690

22 RSS, Virar 2-May-20 31-May-20 1,21,500

23 RSS, Wada 17-Apr-20 31-May-20 82,050

24 YMCA Mumbai 4-Apr-20 31-May-20 67,200

60,42,641

THEDISTRIBUTIONEFFORT“Feed All In Need” would never have taken off had it not been for the unstinted support of our distribution partners. A staggering number of 24 NGOs and their 400 foot soldiers ensured at all times that the last mile delivery was seamlessly done every day. Each NGO identified an area where their volunteers had the core strength of identifying the most needy on account of their ongoing work in these areas. A list of the Distribution partners is given below:

One may wonder how the volunteers could cope up in containment areas, battle the omnipresent fear of infection,

bear the scorching heat of April and May and work long hours through the month of Ramzaan while fasting. No one had any commercial gain – what drove them was simply their passion to do Service Above Self. Support from local MPs, MLAs, Mayors, Corporators, Police Station heads, the Home Guard team, Additional Commissioner BMC, Thane Collector, The Education

Minister of Maharashtra, senior functionaries of the Disaster Management Cell and social workers ensured that the distribution work never stopped even in the most extenuating circumstances. It is also important to point out here that most of the money spent on hiring manpower and vehicles for the deliveries (ranging from autorickshaws to tempos) were funded by the volunteers themselves. There was an average spend of Rs.4,000 daily by every NGO to keep the hungry people fed.

THE CORE TEAMA new daily routine evolved for the Core team of Rtn. Rohan Shah, Rtn.Nikunj Jhaveri, Rtn. PP Sanjiv Mehta, Rtn. Sneha Pathak and Asif Porbanderwala. Daily meetings on Zoom at 10 am and 5 pm were held for planning and reviewing. Innumerable phone calls between the teams on the ground and the Core team started to take over a minimum of 5 to 6 hours

every day. One may question what does one need to do that would take such long hours daily. Each day brought with it new challenges such as funding issues, logistical issues of tempos not reaching on time, food containers not being returned on time, volunteers being stopped in containment areas, kitchens being overwhelmed by time commitments (morning meals had to be ready for pick up by latest 10 am to ensure distribution by lunch time), kitchens being shut down in case workers tested positive for COVID 19. All these needed quick thinking and responses on a daily basis. Suffice it to say that the team members did not engage in Netflix binges for over 65 days!! The time which the team believed would become a time to bond with the family, was aptly utilised to bond with those in pain and family time truly became precious as and when available. The effort was relentless - the nature of the project meant everyone had to be at it every single day, morning and evening,

sometimes even stretching late into the night.

The team’s emphasis on proper record keeping meant several hours a day of exhaustive distribution reports being prepared complete with names, numbers, and on ground geo tagged photographs and videos. Each volunteer group was connected through a separate WhatsApp group where literally scores of messages were posted daily to keep the effort running smoothly.

PILGRIM»SPROGRESSLockdown 3.0 and an imminent lockdown 4.0 brought to fore the stark reality that funds were not enough to sustain the project till the end of May which seemed like the logical end date.

For lack of a better phrase, only Saam, Daam, Dand and Bhed of Chanakya Niti could now pull us through.

Rtn. Vijay Shah supported and goaded by the Miracles team swung into action. The Club’s famous “Ek Ka Do” fund matching scheme was suggested to ATE Chandra Foundation. They successfully marketed it at a unique“ I for India Zoom Concert “ and the personal funds of Mr Ajay Piramal and Mr. Amit Chandra were matched and we got another Rs. 1 Crore to see us through till the end of May.

The month of May saw the exodus of migrant people by private vehicles, tempos, trucks, buses and trains. The most painful sight, however, was that of the migrant people who could not afford or arrange their way back home and set out bravely on foot with their families and belongings, to trudge hundreds of kilometres till they reached the safety of their homes in other states. When our hearts bleed, we act first and cry later.

The entire Core team was moved to tears and outrage over the sight of these migrants leaving the city without food and water with only prayers on their lips and courage in their hearts. It was quickly decided that the all famous Gujju Theplas and pickle would be a good support to these people on their journey. Packets containing four Theplas and pickle were sourced and over 4000 such packets were distributed everyday along with some donors providing a fruit and water. Forty Reasons to Smile (an NGO) stepped in to help with the Food for Migrants drive and provided Sheera packs along with Theplas. Not satisfied, this Gujju Miracle Team added the equally famous Gujju Chivda and Kachoris to help migrants endure a 24 to 30 hour journey wherein no cooked food was available en route.

(The Core Team celebrating the milestone of 1 Crore meals)

THE PROJECTCONTINUES...As the Lockdown 1.0 was scheduled to come to an end, the Club took the view that the help that most NGOs were providing would stop but income for the daily wage earners would not start immediately. In order to help them tide over the first two weeks, they conceptualised the idea of the distribution of Food Kits. Each kit containing rice, flour, pulses, sugar, cooking oil, spices, salt and tea was designed to feed a family of four for 15 days. A total number of 33,000 kits were distributed to carefully identified marginalised communities like hand cart pullers, dabbawalas, transgenders, sex workers, auto drivers, leprosy patients and rag pickers, to name a few. Lists of these marginalised communities were gathered from NGOs closely working with them with full details such as their names,

addresses and mobile numbers. After the kits were delivered a due verification process was followed by making phone calls to ensure that the recipients listed had actually received the kits.

As the project entered the last phase of lock down 4.0, the team started

totting up the numbers and stared in disbelief at what had just transpired. Rotary Club of Mumbai Queen’s Necklace had just created history by feeding 1 Crore meals (60 lakh cooked meals and 40 lakh meals enabled through food kits) over the 60 day intervention which involved a total expense of Rs.14 crores.

KIT DISTRIBUTIONNGO Beneficiaries No. of Kits

Dhriti Foundation Daily wage earners 5300

EOTO Daily wage earners 2676

Feed my Mumbai Dabbawalas 2200

Sanjana Ghadi Daily wage earners 1791

UNDP Rag Pickers 1662

TISS - Cheetah Camp Daily wage earners 1400

Zomato Daily wage earners 1400

Rotighar Daily wage earners 1388

Pride Tribals & Daily Wagers 1368

Pragati Cyclone hit villages/Dharavi 1200

SHED Tribals & Daily wagers 1100

BMC Disabled familes 1075

Kashimira Mayor's Office Kashimira hutments 762

IDF - Aun Malwani slums 592

St Anthony Commercial Sex Workers 500

Aastha Rag Pickers 450

Ashvin Gidwani Theatre workers 450

Wada - RSS Daily wage earners 450

Soumit Banerjee - RSS Daily wage earners 446

Father Barnabe - Alert Commercial Sex Workers 400

Kshamata Commercial Sex Workers 389

Swaraj Rag Pickers 372

Sakhya Daily wage earners 370

SPRJ Kanyashala Parents of low income 360

Samaj Seva Niketan Daily wage earners 331

Adi Jain Sangh Daily wage earners 300

Abhijeet - Bhiwandi Bhiwandi migrants 284

Rajesh Mehta - Nashik Nashik Adivasi villages 282

Vicky Shinde Transgender 251

Rot Panchgani Tribals 250

Salaam Balak District project 225

NGO Beneficiaries No. of Kits

J.P Nagar Slums Daily wage earners 208

SSTN - TB patients TB patients 202

Autodrivers - Badlapur Autodrivers 200

Dominic Savio Parish Daily wage earners 193

YMCA Mumbai Daily wage earners 181

Prayas Families of prison inmates 175

Ravi Shenoy Daily wage earners 156

Sister Sapphire Manipuri migrants 156

Asif Adiji - D ward Commercial Sex Workers 150

Keshav Shrishti - Wada Daily wage earners 150

TISS - HALWA Single mothers 142

Sister Lovina Daily wage earners 125

Sanskardham School Low income parents 109

Dev Kripa Foundation Daily wage earners 100

District Welfare Fund District project 100

SDKV Leprosy patients familes 92

40 Reasons to Smile Daily wage earners 83

We Can Foundation Daily wage earners 80

Chandaramji School Daily wage earners 74

Worli - Zarna Shah Daily wage earners 70

Nayi Soch Daily wage earners 63

Veda Simons - Kalyan Daily wage earners 60

Antarang Daily wage earners 52

Bal Sevak Mandal Daily wage earners 51

Ravi Modi Daily wage earners 41

Sai Mitra Mandal Daily wage earners 40

TISS - Digha Naka Daily wage earners 32

Tardeo Police Station Police families 20

Satish Vora - Bhiwandi Daily wage earners 19

Hillary Daily wage earners 12

Nisreen Daily wage earners 9

Total 33169

“ This is the greatest challenge

faced by humanity in our

lifetime. It was an opportunity

for all of us to stand up together

and play big….something

which we all did and will

continue to do so”

Zohair Diwan, Giants Byculla

"Amidst the uncertainties of

COVID 19, Rotarians and NESH

joined hands to provide meals

to homeless people and

labourers.The smile and

satisfaction on their face was

beyond words…."

Sanjana Ghadi, NESH

“ This lockdown I got a wonderful opportunity to be part of a very

beautiful Seva of serving meals to nearly 14 lakh needy people in the

Vasai-Virar belt. By God's grace our Art of Living Seva warriors through

our sister organisation International Association for Human Values along

with the local authorities carried out the humongous task. However, this

would not have taken shape without the support of our sponsors, The

Rotary Club of Mumbai Queen’s Necklace, the kind hearted people who

put in all efforts, money, resources and time to get the task completed.”

Arun Shenoy, AOL

AND WHAT THEY SAID...

President’s Note

I am deeply humbled and honoured to be at the helm of

affairs of Rotary Club of Mumbai Queen’s Necklace

during such trying times. As the world struggled with

the Covid Pandemic, we at Queen’s Necklace did not

lose sight of the plight, but took up this challenge to

serve mankind. In the midst of darkness, our project

“Feed All in Need” was a beam of light.

As Sudha Murthy said,

“When I see hope in the eyes of a destitute person, see

the warm smile on the faces of once helpless people,

I feel so satisfied.They tell me that I am making a

difference.”

Friends, “Feed All in Need” surely leaves us with a

sense of gratitude and satisfaction that we in our small

way brought about a difference and a smile on the face

of the needy.

Sonal Jhaveri

President