Food for People — A Program of Innovation and Hope
What are the benefits for the participants in TPRF's Food for People?
In brief, Food for People:
Provides nutritious meals, prepared from traditional local recipes
Provides safe, clean water
Involves the village elders in designing the program
Improves the health of children and adults
Enables more children to attend school
Educates the community on hygiene and prevention of disease
Fosters social skills children need for their future
Offers children a structure that encourages school attendance
Gives children a worldview to see and function beyond their village
Helps break the cycle of poverty
Respects the dignity of its recipients
Improves the local economy
Provides a center for community needs
How can I help?
Funding from individuals all around the world has made these Food for People projects possible. Your help can make all the difference to a child, a village, and a community.
The Food for People Story
How it began
The Food for People (FFP) initiative began several years ago when Prem Rawat was on a speaking tour in northeast India. At a stop in the Bantoli area, he saw undernourished children playing nearby.
He learned that most of the local villagers, descendants of the original tribal inhabitants of India, were in a perpetual struggle for survival and that the children were sometimes so desperate for food that they would eat grub worms or snatch kernels of grain from rats’ nests.
Many of the adults were weak from poor nutrition and could not support their families. Often, children had to drop out of school to work in exchange for food. As a result, the local literacy rate in the area was less than 10% — further aggravating the relentless cycle of poverty.
An innovative vision
Wanting to help, Prem Rawat came up with the idea of Food for People. His vision for the program included offering assistance to people in need, while respecting their dignity and giving them hope for a better future.
Working in partnership with the village elders and the Premsagar Foundation, an Indian non-profit organization, TPRF helped fund the purchase of land and materials, and Premsagar Foundation built the first permanent Food for People facility, which opened on March 26, 2006.
Since its opening day, FFP has been providing daily hot meals to children, as well as needy adults, living in nearby villages. Each year, the kitchen serves over 120,000 meals made from traditional recipes, with an average of 8,000 meals for children and 2,500 meals for adults each month.
The facility
Construction of the 10,000-square-foot facility employed local labor and skilled professionals and was designed with input from the village elders.
The remarkably clean facility includes:
a deep well providing fresh clean water to the facility
large kitchen
separate food preparation area
dry storage area
spacious dining hall
large-screen TV for viewing educational programs
clean water for hand-washing
modern restroom facilities
Fresh vegetables are grown on FFP land with the help of some of the villagers. The villagers are learning improved agriculture techniques. Whenever possible, anything that can't be grown is purchased locally, giving a boost to the local economy.
The kitchen also employs local workers to prepare the food. They are trained not only in food preparation, but also in proper sanitation.
Hygiene
Most of the villagers had never used a modern toilet, and the concept of washing hands before a meal, instead of just afterwards, was considered unusual. Nonetheless, all participants in FFP have learned to wash their hands with soap before each meal and after using the restroom. As a result, the incidence of disease in the area has dropped dramatically, and the villagers are beginning to understand the importance of good hygiene.
Education
The daily routine of going to FFP for nourishing meals on a regular schedule encourages and promotes school attendance. The children have a place to go when their parents leave for work in the morning. At Food for People, they make friends with the children from other villages and go off to school together.
Teachers report that the children are more alert and find it much easier to concentrate since they have been enjoying the nutritious meals at FFP. Children who previously were tired and sullen from lack of food are now lively and sociable. Visitors report that it is heartwarming to see the throngs of children arrive at FFP, arm in arm, and to hear their laughter. One child, who became mute when his mother died, has started speaking again and is even singing songs.
Most of the children arrive early eager to watch more of the educational programs on TV—a first for them, since there is no electricity in their villages. They are being introduced to people, places, and animals they could never have imagined. An amazing world beyond the limits of their small village is now potentially within their reach.
The results
After three years, the Bantoli Food for People program has produced some striking results:
The incidence of disease has declined substantially.
Participants have become healthier and have gained weight.
Nearly all children are now attending school regularly and gaining skills that will enable them to find better jobs when they grow up.
Adults who were previously too weak to work have gained strength, returned to their work, and are now able to support their families.
Villagers are starting to have hope for their children and future generations.
New Food for People now open in Nepal
In April, 2009, a second Food for People facility opened its doors in Nepal. Read more.
What do the participants in Food for People say?
The children in the program and their parents have made some inspiring comments about the program. Read more.
What’s next in the Food for People program?
To continue with the five-year plan. We are planning to open two more facilities by 2012. Fundraising is just getting started for the next Food for People. New locations are being considered. We will keep you posted.
How can I help?
Funding from individuals all around the world has made these Food for People projects possible. Your help can make all the difference to a child, a village, and a community.
