Nourishing Hope: Exploring Community Kitchens in Rajasthan Through Research and Reality
-Manya Pandey
SY BSc. Batch of ‘25
In the bustling midday heat of Jaipur, Babu walks from the construction site where he works as a stone cutter for 12 hours a day. Hailing from a village 200 kilometres away, he lacks both the time to prepare a nutritious meal and the financial means to dine out twice a day.
The question arises: where should Babu get his lunch from?
Source: Shebin Saji, Right: Kshetrapal Indra Rasoi Ajmer; Left: High Court, Indira Rasoi, Jaipur
Despite the accessibility of various schemes that give away food grains, LPG connections, and other rations to families, migrant urban labourers, poor students and the elderly often rely on nutrient-poor diets largely consisting of empty calories. The existing welfare schemes do nothing for people like Babu.
India ranks 111 in the global hunger index. As much as India has remarkably reduced food insecurity over the last 50 years, undernourishment remains the biggest challenge that affects more than 28% population of this country. Government initiatives like the National Food Security Act (NFSA), the mid-day meals scheme, and the Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana have made significant strides in the last twenty years, but hunger remains a pervasive challenge.
Community Kitchens turn out to be a novel solution. Exemplified by state initiatives like Amma Unavagam in Tamil Nadu, the Indira Canteens in Karnataka, and, fortunately for Babu, Indira Rasoi in Rajasthan, serving a meal comprising 5 rotis, daal, sabzi, and achar for just 8 rupees.
The Indira Rasoi Scheme
To learn about these Indira Rasois that started in 2020 and have more than 1000 centres around the state of Rajasthan. A set of 14 student volunteers went to different districts of the state and surveyed almost 100 Rasois. Me and my partner Shebin Saji surveyed specifically Jaipur, Ajmer and a few surrounding small towns.
Each thali costs 25 rupees, with guests contributing 8 rupees and the government covering the remaining 17 rupees. In addition, the state government provides benches, a refrigerator, a cooler and a TV (the working hypothesis between me and my partner was that the movies ‘Mela’ and ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ were also provided because those were the only two movies, we saw playing in every rasoi, we are open to fundings that would entertain this research proposal)
The Menu and Why It Works
Menus are carefully curated to accommodate seasonal vegetables and grains, all of which are locally sourced. This strategic approach eliminates the issue of regular disruptions in the supply of raw materials. In the 30 canteens we visited, no disruptions or food shortages were reported. When facing higher footfall, the canteens would proactively source additional supplies from local ration shops or sabzi mandis. As a result, there was significant variety between region to region in the menu offerings. For instance, Ajmer featured more soya chaap, menus near sabzi mandis showcased salads, and the Chittorgarh team encountered Sev tomato sabzi, a traditional Gujarati dish. This diverse menu structure is always most suitable for addressing nutritional deficiencies.
Who Benefits?
Even though there was a large variety in the gender, age and occupation of the guests, our experience reveals that the primary beneficiaries are working individuals, ranging from daily wage workers, drivers, and cleaners to desk clerks and students. These inexpensive and hearty meals came as an alternative to the inadequate, price volatile and empty-caloried street food. Most interviewees reported a shift from street vendors to the canteens, with only a few stating that they brought food from home or cooked themselves.
However, migrant workers, particularly long-term male migrants have the shortest end of the stick. With their ration cards left at home for their families, they eat less frequently due to the nature of their work, necessitating larger portions and more filling foods. Depending on street food fails to meet all of these needs. Indira Rasois, on the other hand, provide a solution. Each thali includes 5 rotis (ideally 25 grams of wheat per roti), Daal, and Sabzi. While some require two tokens to feel full, most find one token to be sufficient.
An additional observation is that diverse income demographics among guests serve as a quality control mechanism. Creating a negative incentive for canteens to provide poor-quality food and service. Notably, the staff at the canteen near Jaipur’s High Court took pride in sharing that advocates from the court were regular guests.
Source: Shebin Saji, JK Lone Hospital Jaiapur. (The canteens provide a safe space for families with spacious seating, replacing plastic tables and chairs with steel benches. This detail makes it safer for mothers to leave their children to roam and sit on the benches. The steel benches not only enhance safety but also present a cleaner appearance with minimal effort.)
How do we make it better
There are several aspects that Indira Rasois must address for improvement. This includes the need for better storage spaces, larger kitchens, the inclusion of restrooms for both staff and guests, the optimal utilization of government subsidies, and the implementation of enhanced hygiene SOPs. Among the most common feedback from guests are requests to diversify the menu and increase the quantity of daals and subzis per token.
These suggestions represent incremental improvements that can be implemented as the scheme finds its feet. However, a notable challenge is the political salience of the scheme, particularly concerning the significant portion of beneficiaries who are out-of-state migrant workers and thus ineligible to vote in state elections. A prevalent concern among the guests was the uncertainty of the rasoi scheme’s continuity during an administration change in the next election. This lack of trust is mirrored in the government’s reluctance to introduce eggs into the menu, driven by the fear of potential backlash during elections.
What comes next?
The effort by the government of Rajasthan to implement the scheme has been remarkable and all states should follow suit. While the states make significant strides, the central government is still not doing nearly enough with the money, power and attention to the truly critical issue of undernourishment in adults.
I have realised that oftentimes, government investments focus narrowly on specific aspects such as healthcare (limited to trauma care), nutrition (limited to early childhood development), and food security (confined to PDS and ration cards). This limited perspective may not effectively address the underlying issues. The right for anyone living in a state like India extends beyond a certain number of calories per day. It encompasses the right to a nutritious meal, a place to sit and eat lunch in peace, and being treated with respect while receiving meals. Looking at nutrition and health holistically can improve every aspect of a community’s life.
While In Ajmer, in the Indira Rasoi near the railway station, I met Chand Babi, a single mother of two and a cook in a nearby Anganwadi. When I asked her if she ever had to sleep hungry in the past month, she replied quickly “Not anymore, it has been a good year since the Rasoi started”.
After hearing of her experience, I think for all of us, there should be this persistent expectation that there be many good years for many more people, in many more places.
If someone asks me to rate the Indira Rasois on a five-star scale as they do for high-end eateries, I would give 4 stars for the management and potential of the scheme alone.
However, in similar hope and all expectations, I would give community kitchens a solid five stars!
*Real names of persons have not been used.*