~These meals are being served to every needy, whether migrants, poor, daily wage workers, police force or hospitals~

New Delhi, May 06, 2020: As the Government readies itself to transport the poor migrants back home in the next few days, National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) feels extremely proud of the small role it played in the lives of these migrants by serving them rescue meals during the lockdown necessitated by COVID-19. Thanks to the marvellous efforts of its many members, a basic idea to leverage our food production capabilities to feed the underprivileged has now served over Five Million or Fifty Lakh Meals in approximately one month. The common and noble cause of #FeedTheNeedy truly brought together the best of India’s Restaurant Community together. This is in line with the clarion call given by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, urging people to show compassion towards the larger community.

“As a responsible industry body comprising of players in the food service industry, we could not have turned a blind eye to the hunger plight of the underprivileged and therefore decided to pool together our infrastructure and resources to feed the needy during the lockdown. We reckoned that this was also one of the biggest key concerns of the authorities during lockdown. The enthusiasm of our member restaurants and generosity of the donors to this cause made the journey to fifty lakhs very easy. I must also add that we received tremendous and wholehearted support from various States, several departments and multiple authorities that helped us execute this idea without much hassles. It’s truly a collective effort of multiple forces and I thank each one of them today and hope for their continued support as we continue our march. Our next target is 1 Crore meals and god willing, we will reach that number soon.” mentions Anurag Katriar, President of NRAI; CEO & Executive Director of deGustibus Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.

He further adds, “While our plight as an Industry is well-known and we will continue to seek support from every quarters to eke out our own survival, on this occasion, we chose to wear our hats as Indian citizens rather than that of entrepreneurs. For us, India and Indians will always be our first priority. Our efforts so far have not only been directed to poor people, we have also served people from medical fraternity and other vital service providers like police and municipal authorities, who are risking their lives every day in line of duty during this pandemic. This is the minimum we can do for these real life heroes“.

NRAI beseeches all to extend a helping hand to those in dire need by making a contribution – however humble it may be. Anyone who is desirous to donate can log onto https://nrai.org/feed-the-needy/ or write to us at [email protected]

City-wise detail of the meals served is as under:

S No. City No. of Meals No. of Kitchens
1 Mumbai 27,58,893 13
2 Delhi NCR 16,36,793 13
3 Kolkata 5,35,475 8
4 Bengaluru 3,69,030 8
5 Coimbatore 7,000 1
6 Chennai 4,480 1
Total 53,11,671 44

 

Participating Restaurants:

 Mumbai:         Barbeque Nation, Blue Sea, Café Royal, Cheelizza, deGustibus Hospitality, Gritty Food, K Hospitality, Madras Diaries, Magazine Street Kitchen, Massive Restaurants, Pratap Da Dhaba, Puja Raheja & Spukkies

Delhi NCR:      Azure Hospitality, Barbeque Nation, Berco’s, Buddys Group, Chaayos, Cream of the Crop, Fab Café, Khan Chacha, Massive Restaurants, Noshi, Nowhere Terrace Brewpub, Saints & Sinners, Yum Yum Cha

Bengaluru:      Bade Miyan, Barbeque Nation, Beijing Bites, Green Theory, Massive Restaurants, Royanna Military Canteen, Smally’s, Watson’s

Kolkata:          1000BC, Barbeque Nation, Kaidi Kitchen, Khichri Khichdi, Refinery 091, Sanjha Chulha, The Grid, Wow! Momo  

Coimbatore:     Barbeque Nation

Chennai:          Barbeque Nation

Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)