Hyderabad NGO feeds the hungry, prevents food wastage

According to the Global Hunger Index Report released in October 2013, India is home to a quarter of the world’s hungry. About 210 million people go hungry in India. Despite the increase in agriculture produce around the world, which is sufficient to provide the minimum calories needed per person per day, the number of people going hungry has not shown any significant improvement in the last decade. The problem is a complex one involving many economic and political factors but indubitably, poverty and wastage of food are the major causes of hunger.

An NGO named GlowTide Society development has come up with a concept of Excess Food Management (EFM) in the city of Hyderabad. This unique organization founded by a 21-year-old NRI student Mustafa Ali Hashmi, collects clean and untouched leftover food from Corporate Companies, Catering Vendors, Hotels and Restaurants that was getting wasted every day and delivers the food to the hungry homeless and needy in the city. They are presently able to deliver a meal a day to around 125 to 150 people each day.

Mustafa Hashmi along with his team mates make a honest attempt to prevent wastage of food by delivering leftovers to the hungry.

On asking what made him start GlowTide, Mustafa Hashmi recalls “I went to buy a sandwich once and saw this man trying to drink water from drainage nearby. It was a very disturbing sight. As I spoke to him, I learnt that he was starving for 11 days and was unable to even fetch himself a clean glass of water.”

On one hand, we see large amounts of food being wasted everyday in public eateries, canteens, wedding parties, buffets, restaurants etc and on the other hand, countless people are unable to make both ends meet, witnessing this phenomenon very closely, GlowTide was formed.

Mustafa is backed by a team with similar thoughts. Here’s what they had to say on food wastage and distribution:

Says Reena Pilly, a US-based NRI who acts as the managing co-ordinator: “The goal of our organisation is to ensure at least one decent meal a day to the hungry and offer food to those who need the most.”

Explaining the modus operandi, Hamza Ahmed, the operations head says: “We collect food in containers and transport it to the orphanages and slum areas in a hired auto. It’s normally a 3 to 4 hours of operation daily.”

The NGO has tied up with a IT firm and some catering places for smooth flow of the process. “Presently we have partnered with an IT Gaint and 2 catering vendors. We are also in talks with a other few,” says Monis Jaleel another team member who’s actively involved in the day-to-day operations.

They may be distributing food to the slums but that doesn’t mean the team compromises on the hygiene. As Syed Ibrahim Ali, field coordinator puts it: “We take upmost care and cleanliness while handling the food transportation and distribution.”

The team also has a quality supervisor, Salman Muzzamil who monitors the food. The team makes surprise checks at the places where food is distributed to ensure the quality of food is good enough for consumption.

Syed Abdul Haseeb, the logistics coordinator says it’s not a cake walk to manage such huge business on a daily basis as it involves lot of expenditure. With the prices of fuel and transportation increasing by the day it becomes challenging to run the show as the team’s resources are limited to pocket money.

The NGO is now planning to reach out to more people. Afzal Ozair Khan, an engineering student part of the group says they are planning to feed at least 2000 more people. The organisation is now looking for helping hands to ease the daily stress.

Murtuza Ali, another NRI student who acts as the PR for GlowTide, says: “We face a lot of difficulty in convincing a corporate company or a restaurant to donate their leftover food to us. Moreover, we have a tight spot when it comes to donations. All our operations are self-funded and we request the public and CSR companies to support us for a bigger impact.”

Volunteers have been pouring in expressing their desire to do their bit for the noble cause. Abdul Mohsin volunteering as Admin Coordinator, says: “I was impressed by the work and aim of GlowTide to remove the basic element of poverty which is hunger and immediately joined them.”

Osama Hussain a B.Tech Student says it is unfortunate to see how people survive without food and clean water for days, yet our government is talking of a developing India.

To involve more people into the mission and ensure more beneficiaries, Fahad Mir is creating awareness on the social media scouting for like-minded dynamic individuals to be a part of their team.

Nawaz Syeed who hails from Malakpet is planning to start their operations in the Old city as well.

GlowTide invites organizations and individuals to support and keep alive the noble cause by donating food, funds and volunteers. The organisation also calls on people to spread the good word to minimize food wastage and instead feed the hungry.

For donations and Volunteering, Glowtide could be reached on:

www.facebook.com/GlowTide

Email: glowtidengo@gmail.com

Contact: +91- 7702209484