A nutritious meal for just Rs 5

A group of women have come together to provide wholesome meals to the underprivileged in the city for a negligible amount

It’s a little past 8 am on a weekday. Two cooks Suresh and Roop Singh are already in the kitchen, whipping up the food for the day. Suresh adds ghee to ensure that his rotis are soft while Roop is careful to not let them burn on the tawa. Preparing the sabzi comes next. This food is meant to be distributed for beneficiaries who queue up at the Raj Roti Center in Matunga for just Rs 5.

Started in May this year, Hira Shah, Nayna Madia and Dr Meena Goshar have been doing their bit for the underprivileged in the city. The project, which currently feeds 40 people, is carried by Shrimad Rajchandra Aatma Tatva Research Centre. On each person’s plate are six rotis, 150 grams of sabzi along with a fruit, every day of the week. She says, “We want to provide nutritious food, without compromising on the taste. Since the elderly find it difficult to bite into hard rotis, we ensure that the rotis are soft and the sabzi is not too spicy since it doesn’t bode too well for senior citizens.”

Speaking of what prompted them to start the project, Dr Meena says, “We are blessed to have the daily necessities in life but that isn’t the case for everyone. There are so many among us, be it senior citizens or physically disabled, who find it difficult to manage a single meal in a day.” Anyone who earns less than Rs 7,000 per month is eligible. She admits that they have had to turn down requests from abled individuals. She says, “Our aim is to help people who cannot sustain themselves financially. If you are physically fit, you can afford a square meal for yourself.”

Dr Meena, who resides in Wadala, volunteers on Thursdays to help the team distribute the food packets. She adds that a lot of donors have come ahead to help the team after learning about their initiative. She says, “A lot of women come here to help out despite having a day job — some prefer to help here instead of resting at home on their day offs.”

She admits that zeroing in on a space proved to be a problem, till a donor, Rashmin Shah, decided to help. She recalls, “Since I stay and work in Wadala, I wanted to open a centre somewhere close to my clinic. The broker told me about a place in Matunga. Since we didn’t have much of an option, I decided to check it out. When we decided to work out of this place, Rashmin gave it to us without charging a single paisa! Instances like these remind us that there are people who want to do good for society.”

Going by the response, the team is now looking to continue with the project permanently. She says, “The biggest source of joy is to see the happiness on their faces. Apart from hunting for a space, working on this project has never been a problem. It has been an easy ride. We are now looking to do this permanently. I am sure this won’t be a difficult goal to reach.”

For more information, contact Dr Meena Goshar at 9819317038