No one sleeps with an empty stomach: "Roti Bank" in Gujarat serves home-cooked food to the needy with the help of auto-rickshaw drivers

The charitable trust Shree Bolbala Charitable Trust based in Rajkot has come up with an initiative, "Roti Bank", to feed the needy. With the help of auto-rickshaw drivers, the bank collects home-cooked rotis and later distributes it among not only the needy in the city but also to the patients in hospitals.

This initiative grew within a few months of its inception and it ensures that no person goes to bed hungry. 

"Under the concept of 'Roti Bank' we collect rotis from more than 1000 households. The volunteers collect two rotis from each household and then deliver it to the needy across the city," said Jayesh Upadhyay, Trustee, Shree Bolbala Charitable Trust.

"We want to ensure that no one sleeps with an empty stomach. The idea of launching a 'Roti Bank' came after we saw videos of such banks in Bihar and Punjab," another member of the trust said.

Apart from Rajkot, Aurangabad district of Maharashtra also has a 'Roti Bank' that collects food from local residents and provides it to the poor. Moreover, in Kolkata, but an NGO based out of the city is also running a van with an automated roti-making machine, 'Apni Roti' and serving over 2,000 people every day.

"From August 2108 we started planning, and on January 1st we started the van. We wanted to serve something which would be really fresh and hygienic meal to the needy people", founder of Apni Roti, Vikas Agarwal said.