Karuna Sree is one of the implementers of the generous thought of food donation. Food donation is considered the best form of donation in all cultures across the world. Everyone is aware of this, but very few step forward to implement it. Dara Karuna Sree didn’t want to be among the ones who knew. It all started with an idea called “Don’t Throw, Donate!” She converted this idea into a project when Dara Karuna Sree was the governor of walkers association Vijayawada, with nearly 48,000 walkers in Krishna district in 2018.
Food Donation Begins
With a pure consciousness and a responsibility of food donation, Karuna Sree inaugurated this project on December 27, 2017. It also happens to be Karuna Sree’s birthday. The noble lady chose this special day for an important cause. Karuna Sree had provided food for 600 people at a function that day. Apart from providing tasty food, Karuna Sree had sensible advice for guests at the function. She got banners made that read, “Don’t waste food.” They were strategically placed.
She placed one at the serving counter and another at the disposing place. The small note made people responsible for taking only so much food as they wanted to eat. Even after all the guests ate, the amount of food that was left could feed an additional 400 people. The success that this small move gave her motivated Karuna Sree to take a more significant step.
The compassionate Karuna Sree was determined to take up food donations on a large scale. She started this project with Mr. Mahesh (current secretary) and Mr. Anji (current treasurer). Karuna Sree started collecting excess food on March 27, 2018. Her first collection was from Supreme Lions Club. People there were looking for proper disposal of excess food after a meeting. Karuna Sree, who was at the railway station on some work, was thrilled to receive this call from the club. She immediately called her husband and informed him that she would be staying back there for food donation.
Endless Food Donation Service
Although Karuna Sree was enthusiastic for the cause, it proved to be a long day for her. She received the food from the club only at 11:30 p.m. When Karuna Sree started donating food on banana leaves (supplied by the club), the process continued till 2 a.m. When you decide to do good, the whole world comes together to help you. It was proved that night at the railway station.
The luggage carriers, the media people that had come there, and many other railway staff volunteered in food distribution that night. The day’s experience gave Karuna Sree an idea, which she proudly shared with Hatke Story. She told us why she chose the railway station as a spot for food distribution.
A Compassionate Thought
Karuna Sree and her husband thought it might be difficult for passengers to find food while they were on the go. Besides, food may not always be available when the train stops at a station at an odd hour. The idea served both purposes – to prevent wastage of food and make it available where it is most needed. Gradually they started spreading the word through Facebook and WhatsApp. Karuna Sree and her team invited people to contact them whenever there was excess food at any event.
Initially, things were difficult because there was no help, and they were all by themselves. Karuna Sree and her team made tireless trips in her car to any place with excess food. Despite their positive intention and efforts, food distribution was not an easy task. Karuna Sree would try to make the best of what’s available. Sometimes they would take food in buckets and other times in food carriers. It was all very disorganized for a month as calls would come at any time from across the entire city.
Karuna Sree – Feeding the Hungry through Amrutha Hastham
At one point, the food collection requests were such that the family car was not enough. It could no longer cater to the never-ending travel needs of this pious mission. When the number of calls increased, more people joined Karuna Sree’s food donation movement. She received a new vehicle as a donation and named it Amrutha Hastham Uchitha Aahara Ratham. They modified the vehicle to make it suitable for carrying food. They added shelves in a way that the food is secured. It was planned in a way that food does not spill while traveling.
Food Donation Expands In Scope
By now, Karuna Sree’s food donation movement had 300 plus members, 350 volunteers, and with a core team of 18 members (Hanumanta Rao, Srinivas, Sundar Rao, Krishna Kishore, Hanumantrao, Siva, Dilip, Rajkumar, Nageswara Rao, Kishore, Punna Rao, Neeli Sridhar, Ramakrishna, Ramkishore).
Everyone understood the cause just like her. They served food to people with the same enthusiasm as Karuna Sree. Interestingly, the age of the volunteers ranged from two years to 80 years. With this, Karuna Sree had successfully inculcated a desire for food donation in young minds.
Countless families were among the volunteers who came forward for food donations. The food collection requests and donation requirements grew to such a level that things were getting erratic. There were days when Karuna Sree would start going around the city for this purpose at 2 p.m. and would finish only at 5 a.m. the next day.
Things started getting a little organized with time. Karuna Sree and her team created a Whatsapp group of 250 people to coordinate better. Today, things are easy as every volunteer is divided into groups and assigned areas to look after. As they say, a good cause doesn’t need publicity. Amrutha Hastam, as the team is now called, became popular only through Whatsapp, Facebook, and word-of-mouth. There were never any posters announcing the donations that they were making.
Food Donation And Added Services
Karuna Sree didn’t stop with food donations. She and her team also provided other necessities like clothes, books, and other things to people. By 2019, Karuna Sree was also distributing buttermilk to help people ease out the summer heat. She chose an auspicious day once again to begin the new service. On May 1, 2019, her son’s birthday, Karuna Sree began distributing buttermilk.
Ms. Aruna made the buttermilk a day before. They started with the intention to put up one can of buttermilk a day. Their good intention received enough financial support through donations to supply five cans of buttermilk per day. Amrutha Hastam encourages people to donate on birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and other special occasions. Amrutha Hastam grandly celebrated its first birthday at KBN college. That day, they felicitated their volunteer for their extraordinary service.
Growing Recognition
Once the NGO gained popularity, the staff at the railway station invited Amrutha Hastam to provide buttermilk to people traveling in the summer heat. It was the first time that an NGO was being allowed to distribute buttermilk at a railway station. It went on from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. They also kept variety in mind. One day the travelers would get grape juice, and another day it was mango juice. Karuna Sree, in her kitchen, prepared all this.
Her unconditional service encouraged more people to join hands with her. A hotel owner agreed to supply vanilla milkshakes for travelers. On a hot summer afternoon, when someone is craving some cold water, a glass of vanilla milkshake is heaven. They developed a good rapport with the railways.
Not An Ordinary Food Donation
What else is unique about Amrutha Hastam? The NGO doesn’t discriminate between vegetarian and non-vegetarian at the time of food donation. Although Karuna Sree and her family are strict vegetarians, they don’t let this affect their services.
One night in the rainy season, they picked up biryani and 500 water bottles from a convention hall by making some trips to and from the station. Steaming biryani on a rainy night was well appreciated by travelers. The NGO grew into a family where the volunteers take care of Karuna Sree while caring for random strangers.
So far, Amrutha Hastam’s food donation has reached 15 lakh people(approx worth of 20 crores). Just think about the amount of food we are wasting. They serve very affectionately despite the large numbers. The highest record of food donation in a day came to 15,000 people. It was the time of Ganesh Chathurthi where a lot of people gathered. They went around 28 places to collect all the food.
Dealing With The Pandemic
While the food donation was going on in this way, Karuna Sree came across a massive obstacle in the pandemic. But even this didn’t stop her from feeding people. Till now, Amrutha Hastam donated leftover food. After the pandemic, when gatherings were banned, Karuna Sree and Mr. Chakradhar decided to cook and feed at least a thousand people.
Vijaya dairies further supported her enthusiasm. They agreed to provide 200 buckets of curd to Amrutha Hastam. It, along with rice, was distributed to 3000-4000 people. People from IRCTC called Karuna Sree to be part of their corporate social responsibility. They agreed to supply food every day for thousands of people. The joint effort was inaugurated at a slum.
Support And Expansion during covid times
Officers at IRCTC encouraged Karuna Sree to apply for permission for a larger food donation opportunity across the country. Besides Amrutha Hastam, Karuna Sree also runs the Consumer Association for Awareness and Protection and Karunaa Eye Bank. She applied for a food donation for thousands of people per organization. Karuna Sree traveled 35 places per day during the pandemic for food donation. Amrutha Hastam continued to feed people in this manner until April 14, 2020. One day Karuna Sree got a call from Vijayawada Municipality to provide food to 16,000 people per day.
In the process of serving people, Karuna Sree lost consciousness because of exhaustion for three days. Despite this, the service didn’t stop. It was carried forward by her volunteers. As a precaution, all the volunteers were tested for safety’s sake. As soon as she got better, she joined her team in food donation.
Inspired by Karuna Sree, ITC provided 30,000 juices worth 8.5 lakh supported by commercial tax commissioner Peeyush Kumar IAS. Volunteers at Amrutha Hastam distributed these juices to migrants traveling in trains and buses and people who tested positive for Covid. Despite this, none of them contracted the virus while doing service.
During these corona times(i.e., a period of 8 months), Amrutha Hastam served 15 lakh plus people an estimated amount of 2.5 crores.
A Fight Against Hunger
Today, Amrutha Hastam feeds 500 people per day. The main aim of Amrutha Hastam is to remove hunger from the lives of as many people as possible. After realizing that six people die every minute in India, their aim was further fueled by enthusiasm. Amrutha Hastam now has its building from where they continue its food donation. Let’s hope that Karuna Sree inspires millions of people and hunger is eliminated in India.
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