Cyclone Fani wreaked havoc across the coast of Odisha, resulting in days filled with one terrible news after another. The scale of destruction has been heartbreaking – to say the least. But then, there are things that aren’t within our control and there are things that are. We can’t avert a furious cyclone but we must help others pick themselves up with whatever little we can.

Most families in the villages have exhausted all their food stocks. The demand for immediate supply of food and other basic materials is growing louder but officials are unable to meet it. With this mindset, we’ve been actively exploring all possible avenues to reach out to feed more and more people in the affected areas. In fact, our Feeding India team has already reached several villages doing what they do best: provide relief through food as well as basic amenities.

Feeding India is providing critical food support to thousands of cyclone-affected people who are struggling to get food and water even four days after cyclone Fani. We are actively working on ground procuring and cooking food in multiple locations across the disaster hit districts of the state. Fresh meals are being provided to families who have been affected despite the harsh conditions as well as for those who have lost everything and are vulnerable to taking on huge debts.

People participation:

Starting today, you will be able to contribute food packages for the affected folks in Odisha, at a subsidized charge of ₹50 for one meal, ₹500 for 10 and ₹5000 for 100. To go a step further, you can also volunteer to serve food with Feeding India volunteers in the affected areas in Odisha.

At this point, your support is much needed.

1. Provide critical food relief directly through the Zomato platform:
   You will be able to contribute food packages for the affected folks in Odisha, at a subsidized charge of ₹50 for one meal, ₹500 for 10 and ₹5000 for 100 here. The received money will be utilised to procure and cook food in disaster hit districts and served by Feeding India Hunger Heroes themselves.
2. Volunteer to take action on ground:
   Feeding India volunteers (Hunger Heroes) are getting together in teams at multiple locations and helping as much as possible. To join them, sign up here and take action asap.
3. Donate Relief Material to Drop off Points in your city:
   Feeding India is also sending other necessities such as utensils, clothes, toiletries, essentials, etc. and has opened drop-off points in over 30 cities of India. You can find drop off points in your city here. Things urgently required are:
   • Food Items: Rice, Pulses, Oil, Poha, Jaggery, Sugar, Tea, Biscuits and Spices
   • Utensils: Pots, Pans, Cooker (3 or 5 lit. only, ISI marked)
   • Toiletries: Tooth Brush, Toothpaste, Soap, Sanitary Pads, Bucket & Mug, Washing Soap/ Powder, Antiseptic Liquid, Floor Cleaning Liquid
   • Essentials: Tarpaulins & Ropes, Solar Lights, Mosquito Nets, Torches and Pencil Batteries
   • Miscellaneous: Bed Sheets, plastic sheets, Pain relievers, Mosquito repellants, Lighter/Matches, Candles, Scissors, Water purifying tablets, Sleeping Mat, General Medicines

To boost this initiative, as we speak, we are also working on the following:

Delivery partners’ participation: We are proud of our 1.8 lac registered delivery partners and a lot of them have shown enthusiasm in contributing to the cause. I have always had the utmost confidence in our fleet’s empathy and am humbled by the prospect of collecting more than ₹8 lacs from our delivery partners alone.

Zomans’ participation: There are currently 5000 people who proudly call themselves zomans and we are keen on ensuring each one of us has the opportunity to contribute to the relief program in place. We are aiming to collect over ₹50 lacs through this effort.

Payout to DPs: Due to the devastating circumstances last week, our delivery partners in Odisha (Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack) weren’t able to work. And a majority of them depend on their weekly wages to run their homes. To compensate the financial loss, we’ll be matching their last-to-last weeks’ payout and crediting the amount directly into their respective bank accounts.

All these contributions will be directed to Feeding India, who, with the help of its on-ground Hunger Heroes, will ensure food and relief reaches the most.

• Feeding India will identify cyclone-affected areas in the state
• The non-profit will prepare freshly cooked food in its kitchens or partner restaurants
• Hunger Heroes will conduct food drives across all affected areas
• Once the relief program ends, an Impact Report mentioning the number of meals served, people helped and areas covered served will be shared with every single contributor

As a matter of transparency, we will publish a rupee-by-rupee account of where these funds were utilized and the resulting impact, on this very blog.

Lastly, these are tiny steps taken by us to help those devastated in Odisha. We are fully aware of the magnitude of destruction Cyclone Fani has caused and we hope that we can amplify our efforts and respond with even greater clarity as we get more information from the ground.