The residents of Aurangabad are contributing their unconsumed food to a ‘Roti Bank’ to feed the poor.
Modelled after a similar venture in Jharkhand’s Bundelkhand, the bank launched earlier this month, helps the city’s poor, aged, sick and unemployed to ‘withdraw’ freshly-cooked rotis with a vegetarian or non-vegetarian accompaniment.
The bank’s founder Yusuf Mukati says the bank targets poor and deprived families but does not entertain beggars.
Over the years, I saw many poor people, especially Muslims, who can’t afford one square meal a day. The situation is pathetic in big families with just one bread-winner. But because they live a dignified life, they do not resort to begging.
Yusuf Mukati, Roti Bank founder
The Roti Bank went public with a modest 250 ‘depositors’ on December 5. The interesting venture has drawn people to contribute.
Prospective donors have to fill up a form for the bank’s membership.
We allot them a specific code number. The request is simple – Deliver us a minimum of two freshly cooked rotis and a plate of vegetarian or non-vegetarian food that they prepared for their family, every day.
The bank is open between 11 pm and 11 pm. Donors can make deposits more than once a day. The unique bank provides special bags with a code number to each ‘depositor’ on receipt. The food is checked for freshness and quality, and then disbursed to the needy families, daily.
Within two weeks, the Roti Bank’s membership has already shot up by nearly 25 percent and Mukati is optimistic that it will double up soon.
The membership is growing, and occasionally, food deposits are higher than expected. On an average, we feed around 500 poor people daily.
Wedding organisers have also started donating extra food to the bank, Mukati said. He has appealed to big restaurants, hotels, corporate and industrial canteens, flight kitchens, among others, to contribute unconsumed food.
Mukati feels his venture will make sure that food is not wasted and that it can help spread awareness in the 1.17 million strong city.
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