During this lockdown, celebrity chef Vikas Khanna, who is now based in New York has been helping the needy in India by distributing dry ration meals.
Recently, in a tweet, the Michelin-Star chef announced that he has distributed four million dry ration meals to the needy across 75+ cities in India amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Khanna started this initiative in April, where he created a supply chain to ensure dry ration is procured and distributed to orphanages, old-age homes and leprosy centers. This was initiated due to the rise in coronavirus cases in India.
About this noble gesture, the celebrity chef mentioned,
My hope is solidarity. Solidarity is everything. We can beat corona and we should all be united to figure out how to defeat this virus. I’m focused on ensuring how to reach as many more people as possible to help them in these challenging times. I’m not doing any favour. I’m giving back to my country. Apart from the kitchen, a chef has a huge responsibility and this gave an opportunity to me.
Khanna recalled an email that inspired him to provide dry ration and meals. The e-mail was accompanied by a picture of an old age home in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh. Even though he made a donation through the mail, he later got to know that it was a spam.
However, the chef realized that old-age homes and orphanages would face difficulty in procuring their ration and food supplies due to the lockdown. So, he started helping them out through the supply chain.
The internet appreciated him for helping the people of his country and achieving this milestone.
In less than a month, the chef has over 350 people working on the ground in India to provide ration and meals to those impacted by the crisis. He has been able to procure and distribute more than 3,100 quintals of ration, including rice, lentils and wheat flour to the people in need.