Top NGOs for Leftover Food Donation During Wedding Season – Wedamor
India has fought with insufficient food and water access over the last few years. During weddings or other big occasions, a lot of food gets wasted. What about using it to feed the poor rather than wasting it. That’s a great idea! We always ensure that there is plenty of food around during every function or party. After everyone eats, we are often left with a lot of food which is leftover. While some of it can be packed off to friends and relatives, most of it goes to waste. As a result, we have jotted down some top NGOs in major cities that will collect the leftover food donation and make it accessible to the needy.
Top NGOs for Leftover Food Donation During Wedding Season
Here are some of the top NGOs which collect the leftover food donation and make it accessible to the needy.
1) Feeding India
Image Source: Blog Mantra
Feeding India is a not-for-profit organisation which directs to solve the issue of food waste, hunger, malnutrition. They work towards getting surplus meals from individuals, communities, weddings, restaurants and cafe, as well as prepare fresh-cooked meals to serve the people who can’t afford it. With the help of their dedicated volunteers – their Hunger Heroes, along with their five key scheme, they again distribute nutritious meals to those who don’t have ample or regular access to it. It operates in Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Goa, Noida, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune. The organisation can be contacted on 098711 78810.
Wedamor is also running a campaign with them on Instagram, you can donate to Feeding India by filling the details in the form below:
Leftover Food Donation Registration Form
2) Annakshetra
Annakshetra is a Jaipur based organisation that aims to eliminate food wastage and ensure optimum utilization f resources. Their beneficiary base includes—minimum wage workers from vegetable markets, waste workers, daily wage workers, severely malnourished children, etc. Annakshetra collects food from restaurants, caterers, as well as from individuals also. The organisation’s van picks up the food. The collection is mainly at night. after this, food is stored in refrigerators. When medical experts declare it fit for consumption, food is then distributed to needful. You can contact them on their 24/7 helpline- +91 9001295293. They are running a crowdfunding campaign for the same: Milaap.org/fundraisers/savefood
Image Source: Annakshetra
3) Samarpan Foundation
Samarpan is a non-profit organization operating from various cities in India. They also work in various different fields such as education, food distribution, healthcare, orphanages and rehabilitation programs. Samarpan accepts perishable leftover food, but they are cautious of what they are accepting since the hygiene of the food is something they must take care of. Whether they accept the food being given depends on the season – they are very careful in summers and monsoons. Samarpan Foundation has a large group of volunteers, so if you give them a day’s notice, they will organize someone to come and pick up the food from the venue. Otherwise, they will appeal you to drop the food off at one of their centers. You can donate to Samarpan Foundation by clicking on the link below: Samarpanfoundation.org/donate
Image Source: Samarpan Foundation
4) Mera Parivar
Mera Parivar, is an NGO based out of Gurgaon, working in the field of education and vocational training. They will come and collect leftover food donation from you if you stay in Gurgaon. The organisation distributes the food to the students. The founder of Mera Parivar that operates in Gurgaon feels that even if one family from one high-rise in Gurgaon can cook one extra meal a day, then the results will be phenomenal. Anil Langhe(founder of mera parivar) said, “How much does two chapattis or bowl of dal cost?” They have 10 volunteers who distribute food across three feeding stops to children and the labour class. They request people to give fresh food so that the health of the receiver is not affected. The organisation can be contacted on 0124-4111787. Here is the link for donation: Meraparivar.org/donate
Image Source: The Better India
5) Roti Bank by Dabbawalas
Mumbai’s Dabbawalas have come up with the ‘Roti Bank’ initiative to prevent wastage of food at social gatherings. Leftover food from birthday parties, weddings etc. will be collected by the Dabbawalas and given to the needy. They also take small quantities of excess food from houses. This is being done in collaboration with prevalent dabbawalas of Mumbai. Dabbawalas of Mumbai are also famous for their own Roti Bank creativity and have been doing something similar like the above-mentioned service for the last 2 years which is giving benefits to at least 300 people everyday. For more details, contact them on 91-9867-221-310 or +91-8652-760-542 or visit the link: Rotibankfoundation
Image Source: Mumbai Live
6) Robin Hood Army
Robin Hood Army is an organisation which is based on volunteers, gets surplus food from restaurants, convention halls, houses (if there is a large quantity), etc. and distributes the collected food to the underprivileged. This organisation consists of over 2,315 volunteers spread across 19 cities. It operates in Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Jaipur, and Jabalpur. Chaitanya Puri who heads their Delhi chapter said, they have tied up with restaurants, some of which also cook fresh food for the drives.They have volunteers working in the four zones of Delhi. If you want to donate food, then you can contact them on Facebook and they will send a volunteer to collect that food. You can also contact them through the link: Robinhoodarmy
Image Source: The Harbus
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7) R.B. Shiva Kumar
The sight of loads of pulao being emptied into a garbage dump made R.B. Shiva Kumar very angry. He decided to turn his anger into action. Now, Mr. R.B. Shiva Kumar picks up leftover food from wedding halls, parties, hotels, as well as houses (if there is a big quantity), and distributes it to the people who don’t have regular access to it. Mr. Shiva Kumar tastes it before agreeing to pick up the food. He also picks up only vegetarian food. He once said, “It took some serious thinking before I decided to start picking up leftover food”. R.B. Shiva Kumar runs a family-owned store in Rajaji Nagar. What people warned him about initially was that the food may become stale and infected. But he just couldn’t bear the sight of lavish food going to the dump. He can be reached at 9900568514.
Image Source: Cross Barriers
8) Shelter Don Bosco
This Mumbai based organisation works with children who are victims of poverty, abuse and abandonment to help them build a better life for themselves. The shelter accepts leftover food donations through the day. Shelter Don Bosco is working with the street children of Mumbai since 1987. Shelter Don Bosco has executed several projects to help such children in the city. The organisation accepts leftover cooked food if it is transported by 8 pm. The management needs to be informed in advance. The organisation can be contacted on 022-2415 0562, email them at [email protected] or visit their website here: Sites.google.com/site/shelterdb/contact-us
Image Source: Don Bosco Alumni Matunga Unit
9) Santhi Mandiram
Santhi Mandiram is an institution which provides asylum for the abandoned. The inmates here are brought to the home from bus stations, government hospitals, etc. The institution collects food from wedding halls, hotels, and well-wishers. It is a non-political and secular organization started with an aim to rehabilitate the lunatics and the homeless who have nowhere to go, and roaming the streets of Kerala without food or shelter. On rehabilitation, they are given initial treatment and counselling and many of them are able to remember their names and the circumstances which forced them to flee their homes. Today Santhi Mandiram has 64 inmates from different states. For more details, contact the organisation on 919895527372, +919895525097 or visit the link: Santhimandiram
Image Source: Santhi Mandiram
10) No Food Waste
This NGO operates in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Their work is also on similar lines as other not-for-profit food distribution firms. And they’ve saved more than INR 3 crores worth of food by feeding an average of 900 people every day. So, if you are going to get married soon, then do not forget to call them up. They involved food recovery units including Volunteers, Vessels, Helpline Number, Mobile Application, Food Recovery Vehicles, etc for effective process execution. You can donate through their fundraising campaign-Edudharma. For further queries contact them through the link: Nofoodwaste.in/donate/
Image Source: The Yellow Turmeric
For every couple, a wedding is a big day, and they want to share this happiness with everyone. What to do then? The answer is in the form of a leftover food donation to needy people. Wouldn’t it make you happy that because of this small decision, a child won’t go to sleep on an empty stomach? And trust us, their blessings will the best wedding gift you could’ve asked for. So from now on, in addition to sharing food waste quotes on social media accounts, team up with the above listed NGOs for leftover food donation and become a hunger eradication hero!