At these darshinis, customers can buy tokens to feed hungry in Bengaluru

A women’s forum is doing its bit to reduce hunger through an initiative that offers free food for the needy at select darshini outlets in Bengaluru. The initiative is called Thrupthi.

About a year old, it is operational at Mulbagal Dosa Vasavi Food Point in Malleswaram, S L V Coffee Corner in Shastri Nagar, and Kaapi Thindi in Banashankari 2nd Stage. The latter was added recently. Hotel Murthy Mess
in Chikkaballapur, 66 km from Bengaluru, is the fourth spot where the service is available.

The initiative allows customers of these outlets to buy food tokens for strangers. These tokens are pinned on a board. Those who cannot afford a meal can walk in and claim these tokens — no questions asked. It is available for both dine-in and takeaway. There is no cap on the number of
tokens one can avail of at once and tokens can be claimed any day.

The board is displayed next to the cash counter, facing the road for passersby to take notice. It has messages like ‘Uchita Aahara’ in
Kannada and ‘Free food’ in English.

Thrupthi was Kavitha Eragam’s idea. She is the founder and international president of AVLGI, a forum to drive self development among women. She shares how the idea came along: “During the Covid crisis, my husband and I were thinking of how we can provide food to the elderly and needy. Later, we came across an initiative in a foreign country called ‘One for me and one for board’. We decided to replicate it here.”

She feels this model “upholds the dignity” of recipients. “We ask the restaurants not to question them in any way. Whether they want to claim one token or 10, whether they want to dine in or take away, whether they are poor or not, these questions are inconsequential. We have also asked these restaurants to not click photos of people picking tokens from the board. This can embarrass them,” she explains.

Kavitha is stoked about the response. “The cashier of the Chikkaballapur restaurant told us that a couple who begs on the streets comes to claim food tokens daily. At another darshini, a couple who was struggling to pay house rent availed of free food for a month. Then, one afternoon, the couple turned up to sponsor food tokens for others. Their circumstances had improved, they explained to the staff. Last week, a man bought tokens totalling to Rs 1,500 to mark his birthday.”

How are they creating awareness among people to sponsor food? Kavitha says when customers get curious about the ‘Free food’ board, cashiers fill them in on the details. Some AVLGI members sponsor tokens worth Rs 200-Rs 500 to mark special occasions.

“Since coffee, tea, idli, dosa and other food at darshinis are reasonably priced, customers don’t mind sponsoring. And it boosts business for restaurants,” she says, adding that her aim is to take Thrupthi to 100 outlets.

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