From throwing food away to feeding 80 people daily
Our school canteen threw away 15-20 kg of perfectly good food every day—unopened packets, untouched rotis, sealed juice boxes. Meanwhile, construction workers near our school ate the same dal-chawal lunch daily because that's all they could afford. The waste felt criminal, but nobody was doing anything about it.
I documented the waste for 2 weeks and presented data to the principal: ₹2.3 lakh worth of food wasted annually. Got permission to start a redistribution program. Now 12 student volunteers collect excess food daily and distribute to workers and local families. We've fed 80+ people daily for 8 months, saved 2.1 tons of food, and cut canteen waste by 65%.
the moment that changed everything: September 2023 - saw our school guard uncle eating plain dal-rice (no vegetables) for the 15th day straight outside canteen. same time, watched canteen staff throw 3 garbage bags of untouched food. unopened milk packets. sealed sandwich boxes. perfectly good rotis. i felt sick. walked to construction site 500m away - 40+ workers eating the exact same lunch every single day. not because they wanted to. because that's all they could afford. went home and couldn't sleep. next morning, started weighing the waste. 2 weeks later had data: 18.2kg daily = ₹2.3 lakh/year. presented to principal with a simple question: "can we just walk this food 500 meters?" she said yes. 8 months later: 2.1 tons of food saved. 80+ people fed daily. same 30 minutes of student time. 🍛❤️
Track food waste quantities and redistribution impact
WhatsApp group manages 12 student volunteers on rotation
Only sealed/untouched food, same-day distribution only
Weekly reports to school administration showing social impact
2-week waste audit: photographed, weighed, categorized all waste. Created cost analysis showing ₹2.3L annual waste. Presented to principal with solution proposal.
Partnered with construction site supervisor who ensures workers get food. Connected with local NGO for weekend distributions and elderly care homes.
12 students on rotating 3-day schedule. Takes 30 min/day. School gave community service hours credit, making volunteering attractive.
Started small (construction site only). Now serve 3 locations. Other schools visited to replicate model. Created implementation guide for them.
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