Help Seva Kitchen Feed The Needy In Hospitals And Share Grocery Kits

The Origin

Seva Kitchen was conceived in 2014 by Khushroo Poacha, a railway employee whose mother was admitted in the hospital for brain surgery at the time. Standing at a tea stall near the Central India Institute of Medical Science (CIIMS), Khushroo noticed over that period, that there were many people who had come from far-flung rural areas to visit a city hospital for treatment. Apart from the anxiety of waiting for their loved ones’ recovery, they could scarcely afford lodging and had to manage with make-shift shanties on the roadside. Further, with the hospital canteen shut on Sundays, they often had to struggle for food or cook a simple meal on the pavement with their meagre belongings.

The idea for Seva Kitchen was born, when his mother suggested that he should do something to help these people. The idea of calling it Seva Kitchen, came with some deliberation. The name Seva Kitchen, quite literally, draws on the traditional value of selfless giving - a desire to serve or do Seva. Although it started off by making meals accessible to relatives of patients in the hospital, the term Seva Kitchen continues to cover a broader ambit of addressing hunger needs. Towards this guiding principle is the belief that every kitchen, in every town, village or city is a Seva Kitchen, the provider of succor to those who are hungry, because every meal counts.

Seva Kitchen does not have a bank account nor do they accept monetary donations. They only accept in kind. Seva Kitchen crowdsources material, food , milk , juice on Donatekart.com  when you donate as per your wish and the food/material is delivered to different hospitals where Seva Kitchen serves.

Neki Ka Pitara

As long as there is pain, suffering, and hunger there is scope for kindness, compassion, and generosity. The Seva Kitchen Neki Ka Pitara is  a beacon of hope for patients and their relatives who come to big cities for treatment from all over India. They have little money left to spend for their own food. At such a time, the Seva Kitchen has come up with a novel idea of providing milk, lassi, Soya Milk , to the Cancer patients who cannot eat and are on liquid diet . You can donate as per your budget. These products will be delivered to our 24 Neki Ka Pitaras across the country.

Neki ka Pitara is a fridge of kindness, installed by Seva Kitchen in hospitals, cancer hospices and schools for underprivileged children. These fridges are stocked with nutritious food and drinks that are free for needy patients and their families and co-managed by a social worker from the hospital, who opens the pitara twice a day.

The Neki Ka Pitara is installed at 25 Locations across India.

1. Central India Institute of Medical Sciences . Nagpur

2. Radhakrishna Hospital , Nagpur

3. Rashtra Sant Tukdoji Maharaj Cancer Hospital, Nagpur

4. Sneehanchal Palliative Care Center, Nagpur.

5. Apna Ghar , Nagpur.

6. HCG Cancer Center , Nagpur

7. Akshar a Learning Center , Nagpur

8. Government Medical College Ward No 85 - Nagpur.

9. Karunashraya , Bengaluru.

10. Apna Ghar , Bengaluru.

11. Apna Ghar, Hyderabad.

12. Basavataraka Indo American Cancer Hospital (Pitara 1), Hyderabad

13. Basavataraka Indo American Cancer Hospital (Pitara 2), Hyderabad

14. Sparsh Cancer Hospice (Pitara 1) , Hyderabad

15. Sparsh Cancer Hospice (Pitara 2) , Hyderabad

16. Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital , Palwal

17. Signal Shala School for Less Priviledged Children, Thane

18.  Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital, Navi Mumbai.

19. Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital, Naya Raipur.

20. Mangalam Charitable Foundation,  Navi Mumbai

21.  Navneet Cancer Hospital , Mandvi

22. Apna Ghar , Ahmedabad

23. Ishpremalaya , Savantwadi

24. Apna Ghar , New Delhi.

25. Pallium India Trust - Trivandrum.

Free Meals for Relatives of Patients.

Seva kitchen also serves packed meals in Hospitals  .  The locations we serve as of today are as follows.

1. Samarpan , Opp Government Medical College , Nagpur

2. Daga Hospital , Nagpur

3. Akshar a Learning School , Nagpur

4. Central India Institute of Medical Sciences, Nagpur.

5. Vaardan - Nagpur

6. Sanjay Gandhi Hospital - New Delhi.

The Blessings Of a Seva Kitchen Food Kit

Living with Cancer is an arduous journey from detection of the disease, through its treatment, recovery, re-occurrence, re-treatment, end-of-life stage and death. If one has a supportive family and a palliative team by one’s side, this journey can be less painful, less arduous.

But how can one survive if one is not able to earn? Imagine a daily-wage earner, who loads and unloads lorries for a living, is down with Cancer or with a life-limiting disease. Imagine his children are school-going and his wife uneducated; someone who never ever stepped out to earn.  In such cases where the patient earns and lives by the day, putting food on the table becomes a serious challenge.

Imagine another scenario where a bread-winner patient has just passed away. His wife needs a couple of weeks to figure out her next steps. She may need time to garner support from relatives or she may need time to search for a suitable job. In such a situation, how will she feed her children and herself?

Seva Kitchen, through its patrons and donors,  provides Food-Kits for such families. These Kits are normally channelized through reliable NGOs who work in the field of providing care and support to such patients and families. The number of patients needing such support is rising day-by-day because Cancer and other life-limiting diseases are becoming rampant. All patients facing such situation undergo huge suffering but poverty becomes a double whammy. Food-Kits mitigate human suffering, at least for some time.

1. Apna Ghar - Nagpur.

2. Sneehanchal - Nagpur.

3. Sparsh Cancer Hospice - Hyderabad.

4. Apna Ghar - Bengaluru.

5. Pallium India Trust - Trivandrum.