New Age Robin Hood Army Gives Excess Food to Those in Need

Collecting excess food from lavish weddings or restaurants, the tireless Robin Hood Army provides meals to the hungry and homeless.

Do you sometimes feel helpless, and maybe also a tad guilty, looking at all the leftover food at weddings or at restaurants, which most likely gets wasted? Thankfully for us, this helplessness resulted in something productive for Neel Ghose and Anand Sinha, the founders of Robin Hood Army.

As the name suggests, the RHA {which started out with six people}, decided to feed the hungry and homeless through food sourced from restaurants.

Neel, the co-founder, confesses that RHA was not an original idea. It is inspired by Refood International, an organisation which collects excess food and redistributes it to the needy. Ghose volunteered with Refood when he was in Lisbon, and wished to replicate a similar model when he came back home.

As far as the quality of the food is concerned, RHA has stringent measures in place. They accept food either if it is freshly made or cooked a few hours ago. Sometimes, the Robins have themselves sampled the food to ensure that it’s fresh. Ghose informs us that staff meals, which consist of basic dal-chawal, are most commonly given out by restaurants.

A big fat Indian wedding is incomplete without a lavish banquet. When quizzed about tying up with caterers during the wedding season, Ghose tells us that since weddings usually end late, it is only at around 1 or 2am that the Robins can collect food. However, the one time they did tie up with a wedding caterer, RHA was able to serve 1,500 people from the surplus food of one wedding.

In most cities where RHA operates, they distribute food only on weekends, as most volunteers are full-time working professionals. As far as expansion plans are concerned, RHA hopes to widen its presence in Tier-2 cities of the country. They also want to go global by figuring out ways to help Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The RHA works on a hyperlocal model, which means that every neighbourhood has its own local chapter. If you wish to become a Robin, connect through their websiteor Facebook page and enter your location.

The local chapter will contact you and take the process forward. Most volunteers see RHA as a platform of giving back to society.

RHA does not entertain any monetary donations; it only accepts contributions in kind.

Contact: Write to info@robinhoodarmy.com