Campus to plate — an initiative by Feeding India

By Pulkit Goyal

This post was originally published on August 03, 2019.

College canteens serve delicious yet pocket-friendly meals which students love! Some college canteens are even renowned across the country for the food they serve, for example, St. Stephen’s — Mutton Cutlet, IIT-Bombay’s — Rolls and DSE’s — Ice Tea.

However, what we are not aware of is the large amounts of excess food from their kitchens that is thrown out. According to a report on the All India Survey on Higher Education, there are 799 Universities, 39,701 colleges, and 11,923 standalone institutions in India. Every college has its own canteen, multiple messes, and cafes which generate enough surplus food to feed 120–1100 people daily!

Given that almost 40% of food produced in India gets wasted and over 195 million people within the country are undernourished, curbing food waste in our institutions becomes imperative.

To address this issue, Feeding India has enabled colleges to prevent food wastage and donate excess food to people in need by initiating the ‘Campus To Plate’ program. Through this program, once partnered with a college campus, Feeding India’s Magic Wheels vans collect food from these campus messes at a stipulated time post a 5 step checking process. This food is then hygienically transported to Feeding India’s beneficiary centers or listed ‘Huger Spots’ where it is served to those in need, post checking for quality at the time of serving.

Any college, university and school can be a part of this program. If you wish to nominate your college, simply fill this form.

The FSSAI has launched the ‘Eat Right’ awards in 2018, and IIT Gandhinagar has become India’s first ‘Eat Right’ Campus, followed by IIT Roorkee and LBSNAA Mussoorie. The campus met all requirements including recycling food to prevent wastage. In addition, student unions across universities should be heavily involved so that they’re actively addressing food wastage in their own campuses, and come up with innovative ideas to help hungry people right outside their colleges. Also, a large student network helps in conducting regular audits in a shorter span of time for the authorities to avoid any logistical issues, and would make the entire operation smooth and efficient. If you wish to start a Feeding India chapter in your campus, sign up here!