New Delhi, April 9th, 2020: With major economic activities stagnating, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the livelihoods and food security of millions of people across India. Home to one-quarter of all undernourished worldwide, malnourished individuals with compromised immunity including the urban poor, inhabitants of remote areas, migrants, the informally employed, people in conflict areas and other vulnerable groups are most susceptible to the economic & health effects of this pandemic.

In an effort to end hunger, malnutrition and make food available to those suffering to meet ends during this lockdown, India’s largest dining out and restaurant tech platform, Dineout has launched ‘Project Thali’, a community-driven initiative that aims to connect the dots between volunteers, NGOs and the government ensuring everyone, including our poorest and most vulnerable communities who may not be able to claim daily ration get access to food & nourishment. Hosted in partnership with the non-profit World Help Group, this initiative is inviting people to a) donate rations, b) cooked food, c) volunteer or donate by means of guaranteeing food security for a vulnerable family for 15 days for Rs 1400 only.

Ankit Mehrotra, Co-Founder & CEO - Dineout said, “The COVID-19 crisis has had a disastrous effect on the sustenance of our most vulnerable communities including homeless people, daily wagers & migrant workers. Senior citizens with limited resources in this lockdown too have been impacted. This share of our population is most exposed to hunger, malnutrition, exodus, destitution and other problems which may potentially be more widespread than the disease itself. In times of such dire crisis, we have launched Project Thali’ to ensure food reaches those who need it the most in an effort to have a real and lasting impact on eliminating hunger at local & national levels. We’ve had some initial success in the past two weeks by serving food to 100,000+ people in collaboration with over 1300 volunteers, and invite one and all to be a part of our mission to ensure no one sleeps hungry.”

Besides ‘Project Thali’ to eliminate hunger among the needy, Dineout has initiated an online petition to support NRAI on change.org, requesting the Finance Ministry and Government of India to help restaurants with employee unemployment pay cover, moratorium on upcoming statutory dues, delay in utility bill payments, holiday/temporary stoppage on EMI payments & interest, freezing rental dues & restoration of Input Tax Credit on GST for all restaurants. The petition has received widespread acknowledgement and has been signed by more than 35,000 people and endorsed by some of the country’s biggest restaurateurs & F&B entrepreneurs.

You can contribute here - https://www.dineout.co.in/project-thali