Hundreds Of Hungry Children Feast On Unsold Meals At Delhi And Mumbai Airports

A wide range of eatable items are stacked in glass chillers every morning at cappuccino outlets near airport boarding gates. On a normal day, the contents fly off the shelves if a flight is delayed and the passengers are stranded but if a flight has been cancelled in advance and passengers don't turn up, there are fewer takers for the morning grub.

The situation is such that there is a shortage of meals on some days and excess food with no takers on most other days.

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However, since the past many months, a food truck pulls into Mumbai and Delhi airports every day to take away the excess meals, reported The Times of India.

Travel Food Services, the company that runs 70 restaurants, lounges and food and beverage outlets at Mumbai and Delhi airports, has reportedly tied up with an NGO, Feeding India, to donate unsold food from the two airports to the "hunger centres" of both these cities.

The initiative began in Mumbai in October last year and in Delhi in January this year.

"We plan to expand the tie-up with Feeding India to airports in Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Goa this year,'' Gaurav Dewan, COO and business head, TFS was quoted as saying in The Times of India. He said the company donates between 2,000 to 3,000 meals per month from these two airports.

REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE. BCCL

After the food is tested and collected from airports, the NGO matches and puts together a balanced meal with curry, vegetable, rice, roti, one beverage and, on some days, desserts.

About 2,000-3,000 meals are distributed per month.

There are thousands of hungry and needy in these cities and even affording a meal a day is a distant dream for many. On the other hand, a lot of food is wasted on a daily basis at major eateries and outlets. Therefore such initiatives go a long way in helping the helpless and reaffirming our faith in humanity.