Bengaluru's eateries join forces to feed the needy

A customer at a hotel in Bengaluru donates a meal to the needy under the 'Sanchigondu' programme. (R) The Sanchigondu banner has been put up at a few eateris.

A bunch of city restaurants have designed a programme to let customers gift a meal to those affected by the pandemic-triggered economic crises.

Hotel industry sources said the programme ‘Sanchigondu’ is a community service by the Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association (BBHA) and Rotary Bangalore South Parade in association with Corona Warriors Banashankari.

BBHA president P C Rao said the movement is still nascent and would grow even bigger. “So far, about 70 restaurants who serve South Indian food are participating. We hope more will join in,” he said.

BBHA is asking its patrons to buy coupons that would buy food and beverages for the homeless and economically disadvantaged. “Many restaurants have a meal option,” explained Arun Adiga, owner of Vidyarthi Bhavan. “There are two coupons, one is for coffee or tea and the other is for lunch. Needy people can ask for Sanchigondu meals.”

Though pricing is different in each restaurant, they are offering a meal for less than Rs 100 as the initiative is in its first phase. Subramanya from Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan said: “People can buy the coupons and give it to a needy person or drop it in the box.”

Subramanya believes that the scheme would draw more people to dine out. “Now’s the good time to help,” he added.

All participating restaurants will have a board announcing the initiative. BBHA said the programme will run for two months and it may be extended based on the response.

Dr B L Shankar, president, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath; Dr Gururaj Karajagi, chairman, Academy of Creative Teaching; and Capt Naveen Nagappa, Kargil war veteran, have participated at the function to launch the initiative.

It was academician, counsellor and columnist Dr Gururaj Karajagi’s story on ‘One for me and One for the wall’ that inspired the movement.

Those participating

Some of the 70 restaurants participating in Sanchigondu are Parkview, Paakashala, Srinidhi Sagar, Nandhana Palace, Chaitanya Veg, Gokul Veg, Rajathadri Palace, Udupi Sri Krishna Bhavan, Vidyarthi Bhavan and Vasudev Adigas.

How to participate in the scheme

Order a coupon along with your food.

Drop the coupon in the dedicated box.

Needy diners can ask for a meal if they see a coupon in the box.