Evolution of Community Kitchens

evolution of biotic comm concord KitchensAbstractCommunity kitchen, as a concept is critical for ensuring the victuals for thought surety of the under attack(predicate) population. It is a gathering point where convocations of multitude contend in concert to pool their resources to cook large quantities of regimen. The important reduce of this research thesis is to understand the concept of union kitchens and their operation in different neighborly settings. This research in any case aims to understand the role of the presidency agencies (if any) in ensuring the regimen auspices for the communities (which is their primary responsibility). In the changing context of recite relegating to a secondary position, overspreading moves by much(prenominal) private actors dissemble significance. By mellowedlighting on cardinal different case studies of organizations, we tend to unravel the cover of residential district kitchens in separate fond environments. With the stand by of participant observation, focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews, this research is an exploration of the possibilities of food for thought security with the concept of participation kitchens.IntroductionCommunity kitchen is an fundamental law where food is watchful by the members of a company in a collective manner. thither ar different shapes of community kitchens that exist around the social space. Generally it is observed that members of a community who prepargon food ar also the consumers of the same repasts cooked collectively. However there atomic number 18 other models corresponding Akshay Patra (our case occupy in the present study) where food is collectively prepared but distributed among the non preparers of the food cooked. Community kitchens aid the community in preparing affordable meals through a self sustaining institution. The purchase, preparation and consumption are more often than non done in a collective manner which compels the enterprise a woo effective and age efficient in nature. plot of land meeting a communitys social shoots, collective kitchens are a mechanics which tolerate financial, social and food security to the community members. Community kitchens are socially rooted institutions, they help in increasing the solidarity among the members of the community. Grace Campbell states The figure outation and operation of community kitchens varies widely crossways communities and cultures and is largely subordinate on the membership, yet each organization requires a well-equipped kitchen, willing participants, and initial capital. Food security is a modern solar daytime challenge, which needs to be actors lineed at all trains of society. Community kitchens at topical anesthetic level pass on access to affordable and regimen rich food to the members of a community, which goes a coarse way in ensuring food security. Globalization, inflation, increasing gap between the remov es and develop nons, are the major reasons which are remaining an average man food insecure. In such a scenario, this research aims to explore food security through the concept of community kitchens.Food securityFood security is a particularise in which all people at all times can acquire safe, nutritionally nice and personalisedly acceptable foods that are accessible in a manner that maintains human dignity.1 The four divisors of food security, as described in the literature, are the quantitative, the qualitative, the social, and the psychological. The quantitative component describes what is traditionally known as hunger, not having enough to eat at the individual level, or not having food in the house at the household level. The qualitative component concerns the quality of the available food (its nutritional adequacy, safety, and variety). Individuals often compromise on food quality to cope with a lack of funds to purchase suitable foods. The psychological component inc ludes the fears and decreased feelings of self-worth associated with dealing with the lack of funds to purchase sufficient, quality food, whereas the social component describes many of the cope strategies used to acquire food when funding has run out, such as charity, stealing, and buying on credit. 2In the 21st century disparities in economic offset have questioned the socio-economic and environmental sustainability. The issue of food security has now become a global concern. Notwithstanding the technological and scientific developments in the area of artless productivity, hunger and malnutrition continue to be a threat to the humanity. Access to food is still perceived by many as a privilege, rather than a basic human office, and it is estimated that about 35 000 people around the realness die each day from hunger. An even larger number of people produce from malnutrition. 3 UNFAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization) defines food security as Food security is f ood available at all times that all persons have pith of access to it that it is nutritionally adequate in name of quantity, quality and variety and that it is acceptable within the given culture. Only when all these conditions are in spot can a population be considered food secure.Based on the UN definition research world over emphasizes on four main components of the issue of food security those being availability to provide sufficient food to all, equal accessibility to nutritious food, acceptability of food ground on local anaesthetic traditions and cultures and lastly adequacy which emphasizes on sustainability of production and statistical distribution of food.Food security in IndiaFood security has been a major development objective in India since the beginning of planning. The achievements of green revolution have someway failed to collapse the bottom of the pyramid. Chronic food insecurity remains at an all time extravagantly. all over 225 million Indians remain ch ronically under nourished. The state of Indias food security is worsening by the year.4The cost of food items is increasing rapidly, making them unaffordable to a majority of the people.In recent years, there has been a state policy focus towards household level food security and per capita food energy intake is interpreted as a measure of food security. The Indian brass has been implementing a wide hurtle of nutrition intervention broadcasts for achieving food security at the household and individual levels. The Public Distribution System (PDS) supplies food items, such as food grains and sugar, at administered prices through a network of fair price shops. There have been a range of food-for-work and other wage employment programmes. Another approach adopted by the political science is to target women and children instantaneously. This includes the mid-day meal programme for instructdays going children, supplementary nutrition programme for children and women and ripe to Food bill. 5The Right to Food Bill introduced in the parliament in 2009 insists on the physical, economic and social right of all citizens to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with an adequate diet requisite to lead an active and healthy life with dignityWith the Right to Food campaign, hunger and food insecurity have come in the center of development discourse in India. Notwithstanding all these developments, our country is a habitat of people with unconscionable level of malnutrition and hunger. Malnutrition levels among the children and women are even higher than the overall average. Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council for Medical Research) estimates that nearly 40% of the adult population in India has a Body Mass index finger of less than 18.5, which implies chronic energy deficiency of epic proportions, bordering on a national humanitarian crisis. 6Since food security of the vast majority in the region is at stake, addressing such a wide range of issues deman ds community value-system found participatory approaches to ensure involvement of all the stakeholders. The various government schemes may serve as immediate kernel for dealing with food insecurity but shall be of last irrelevancy, until we work on developing our local community based food systems strong.7 One of such means is through the institution of community kitchens.Community kitchens in their historic perspectiveCommunity kitchen as a concept is old, dating back to the late 15th century, which has undergone change over the years and the current form seems to be involving the community to address larger social issues like food security. In India, Sikhs have a business relationship of providing food a yearn with every worship service, ceremony, or event, and when Gurus gained popularity, people traveled from far of distances and collected in groups to hear them preach the principles of equivalence and humanity.It was in the late 15th century that Guru Nanak dev ji, the f ounder of Sikhism, started the institution of Langar (community kitchens). Langar is a Persian word meaning an alms house, an asylum for the poor and the destitute.8Langar upheld and reinforced the Sikh principles of service to mankind, equality of all and humility. Although the institution was begun under protective covering od Guru Nanak, it was institutionalized by Guru Amar Das, who sought to encourage a tradition of eating together that had begun with Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.Langar is the collective kitchen which is run in the Gurudwara. The institution feeds all who come, disregardless of their religion, caste, gender or creed. Sikh devotes are involved in each stage from the food preparation, to victuals and to cleaning of the utensils. Today, this institution of Langar is cornerstone of Sikh religion, encouraging the discipline of service and a spirit of co-operation, philanthropy, equality, the appraisals and practices deeply imbedded in the community kitchen movem ent. The practice and its origin must be seen in the light of its contradiction to the Hindoo and Muslim custom at the time, which separated people on basis of caste (social ranking) or sex segregation (seclusion of women).In the recent past various moments around the concept of community kitchens can be seen across the world. In the nineties of the last century community kitchen was seen as a movement in Nicaragua, when Sandinista government lost power. The fall of the government put the nations food security policy in turmoil. It was then that community kitchens were set up all across the country to address the issues of hunger and deprivation. Similarly in Abkhazia, subsequently the end of war between Georgia and Abkhazia (1994) community kitchens were established to provide food to the vulnerable populations of the country. The focus of the state sponsored community kitchens were women, children and elderly. Self sufficiency and sustainability were attained by purchase at loc al level and secondly by employing the local community.In America too, we see the moment of community kitchens. A not for profit body called Second Harvest was a pioneer to work in the area of food security in USA. Extensive community kitchens were set up to create hunger free America. The programme was unique as it involved students in the food preparation and distribution process. This led to skill sweetening and job training for the unemployed youth. History also holds evidence of collective kitchens operating(a) in San Francisco. Community kitchens were set up there to meet the need of the immigrants and other discriminated sections of the population.These kitchens continue to encourage community unity through resource pooling, cultural exchange, and social interaction. Although in nigh of the cases the community and collective meal programmes were generally organized to address financial challenges, many kitchens now focus on expanding social circles, multicultural interacti on, address the challenges of hunger, dealing with food insecurity, and building community capacity.Food security and community kitchensCollaborative events that will mend our communities resilient in the 21st century dont need to be at vast scales alone. Efforts at local community, household and individual levels play an important role to deal with the issue of food insecurity. One such model of community kitchens is a smart, practical program that has the ability to promote local food security. This model not only ensures that the participants have access to affordable food, but also in a sustainable and cost efficient manner. These are resilience building institutions, and work on principles of shared equality and coarse benefit. This local level initiative has the ability to grow across a wide range and make an impact on the global food security level.Community kitchens as alternate means of keepCommunity kitchens can serve as means of alternate aliveness to women of the ma rginalized sections, unemployed youth, local unlearned labor and other marginalized communities like sex workers. Community kitchen has the ability to provide the financial means whereby a group or a community can live a dignified and sustainable life. ride workers face continuous social exclusion and are in a constant search for a gull free means of livelihood as a pre-requisite for a dignified and better tomorrow. establishment of community kitchens provides as a means of employment for many unskilled and semi-skilled workers thus ensuring a livelihood to the community. Collective kitchens serve to reduce vulnerability of marginalized sections of the society. It provides source of income as well as a sentience of ownership and possession to the members of the community.Sex works lead a life of stigma and discrimination. The degree of stigma is higher among male and transgender sex workers. As members of the society it is their right to be a part of the usual social life, wit hout any marginalization. Especially sex workers facing stigma of human immunodeficiency virus support have a natural right to live in maintaining environments free from social stigmas.United NationsCommunity based programs like community kitchens have a crucial role in assisting communities to identify and change stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors relate to human immunodeficiency virus and sex work and to foster a spirit of tolerance and inclusion. Community kitchens provide meaning(prenominal) and comprehensive set of alternatives and meaningful economic options to sex work.Hunger, food productivity and illiteracy establishing the linkWhile talking about building community capacity the children of the community must remain the central focus. Children, who come from remote rural areas, work so hard at the household level that going to instill remains no priority for them. It is a well established fact that knowledge has the ability to transmogrify society. Education to thes e children can serve as a force which can liberate the coming generations from the bobby pin of abject poverty. Children living in vicious circle of hunger and illiteracy require special precaution by the government and society, in form of new schools, better learning facilities, learned teaches, and locally relevant syllabus taught in their local language.Have we ever wondered why the hungry(p) are always also illiterate? A study by World Bank states that the people who are undernourished and the adults who are illiterate are mostly the same people, mainly the poor in rural areas. Illiteracy and hunger thus are cause and effect of one another, making it a vicious cycle of poverty.Collaborating the solution of the issues of upbringing and hunger represents an important step forward, it has led to the creation of a new partnership initiative called mid day meal scheme in India. Hunger among children leaves them with very little energy to front school and learn effectively. Medica l research proves that hunger impairs two mental and physical growth of children. If millions of hungry children cannot learn, or are forced to work instead of answering school we will not reach the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education. Offering incentives like noon meal encourages children to attend and their parents to send them to school and such initiatives could have a major impact on child nutrition, school attendance and social equity. Universal and nutritious mid-day meals would be a significant step towards realization of the right to food.9National Programme of Nutritional hold back to Primary EducationNational Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE), popularly known as the Mid Day Meal Scheme, was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15th August 1995, initially in 2408 blocks in the country. The mid day meal scheme aims to ensure food security among the school going children in India. Under the aegis of the scheme th e school going children in all government schools are to be provided with free lunch. noon meal scheme began as a strategic program to address two most force per unit area problems in India hunger and education. The government of India had made education for children between the age group of 6-14. Hunger obstructs the process of holistic education, as children are forced to leave schools and take up menial jobs. Lack of education curtails opportunities for development and leads to vicious circle of poverty and hunger. Midday meal programs (school lunch) emerged to address the multiple challenges of poverty, hunger, and access to education.rationale behind the mid day meal scheme is offset printingly, to protect school going children from chronic hunger. second to attain advancement in school attendance and enrollment rates. Thirdly, enhance socialization and feeling of junction among students, thus breaking the schakels of gender, race, class and caste. Supreme Court of India pa ssed an order on November 28, 2001, which mandated Cooked midday meal is to be provided in all the government and government-aided primary schools in all the states. This order expedited the execution of instrument of the scheme. Mid day meal scheme was soon extended across the nation and across all government schools, government aided schools and for children in anganwari centers. The parcelling and off take of food grains under the scheme during the 10th invention and the first two years of the 11th Plan 2007-08 2008-09is presented in Table 1.The table 1 summarizes the allocation of funds in terms of food grains each year, from 2002-03 to the last financial year. The allocations have risen substantially over the years, both in terms of the rice and wheat food grains. It is seen from the table that allocations from the central government have been more than the off take or utilization of the food grains in the implementation of the scheme.The abridgment of subsidies in diff erent states, as on November 2009, is listed belowThe table 2 shows a comparative analysis of how the central government is contributing in terms of gold and food grains for the smooth running of the mid-day meal scheme. It can be seen that in Karnataka the aid varies with three denounce levels. Subsidy in terms of money is same for the level 1 to 5 and from 6 to 7, however it increases from 1.80 rupees to 2.20 per child per day when students reach grade 10. The grains available for children below grade 5 are 100 grams per child per day, which increases to 150 grams of grains per child per day from grade 6 onwards. On an average all states are providing 100 grams of grains per child per day in lower primary level and 150 grams per child per day in the upper primary level. Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh provide highest amount of fiscal subsidy per child per day that is 3.00 rupees. Karnataka state shows the lowest figures (1.80 rupees) in terms of monetary subsidy. It must also b e borne in mind that higher subsidy does not necessarily total to better performances. We shall look into the state of Karnataka in detail in section three.The scheme has a long history especially in the state of Tamil Nadu, where it was introduced by K. Kamraj government in 1960s and expand by M.G Ramachandran in 1982. Ever since it has been adopted by most of the states in India after the landmark directions by the Supreme Court of India. The purpose behind the judgment was to enhance enrolment, retention, and participation of children in primary schools, at the same time improving their nutritional status. The judgment aims to cater to the nutritional needs of low-income groups in both rural and urban areas (Planning Commission, 2007).10As per the programme the Government of India provides grains free of cost and the States will provide the costs of other ingredients, salaries and infrastructure. By January 2004, nearly 50 million children received midday meals provided either by the Government or by NGOs working in partnership with the government.11However, inconsistent food quality, occasional food poisoning, poor hygiene, and operational concerns were among the complications to the formulation of government-sponsored midday meals. The meals were prepared by teachers, who cooked the same meal every day ghoogri, gruel made of boiled wheat. Children inform that that they grew tired of eating the same food daily, they did not like the taste, and it often made them feel sick. In 2004, a fire accidentally started by a teacher cooking the midday meal killed 90 children in Tamil Nadu, an event which underscored the safety issues inherent in meals prepared in makeshift kitchens based on school sites. Given the scope of hunger in India and the difficulties faced by the government programs, the trade union movement of feeding school children was still a significant challenge.Public private partnership implementationAs the research is based on two organizations located in the state of Maharashtra, the following section analyses the humankind private partnership model used to implement the mid day meal scheme in the state. The State of Karnataka introduced the provision of cooked meals in June 2002 which saw a successful private sector participation in the programme. One such initiative was Akshaya Patra, which started with leadership from ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness). The programme has evolved into a movement where by children in the government schools are provided with cooked lunch on all working days. The state and the central government support the Foundation in the achievement of the programme. Hence the programme runs a collective kitchen based on a public-private partnership. The Akshay Patra program is conducted in partnership with the various State Governments and Central Government. All of these governments provide a subsidy to support about 55% of the running cost of the Akshay Patra program. The Cen tral Government support is routed through the individual State Governments. The meal includes a nutritious mix such as sambar, rice, vegetables and some curd on most days. Since the success of this programme there has been an in the private sector participation in India. The partnerships in execution of the programme are not limited to rural areas but also major urban centers like Delhi, and Hyderabad.12About the studyStatement of the problemIn the Indian context both GDP and food grain production have risen at a faster growth rate than growth in population over the past 50 years. Yet our country faces chronic hunger and famishment among large sections of our population. There has been declining calorie consumption especially in the bottom 30% of the pyramid. Attempting policy reforms in an era of overall weakening governance and state commitment in social sectors seems a challenge. In this background, concept of collective and community kitchens have evolved and grown acquiring v arious dimensions in the past a couple of(prenominal) years. This research aims to explore the possible link between community kitchens and food security. The research revolves around the report of community kitchens being the possible means to attain an end of food insecurity examining the models of Ashodaya Samiti and Akshay Patra in the Indian scenario.Ashodaya Samiti is a sex workers organization working for HIV legal community since January 2004 in Mysore district of Karnataka. In 2004 University of Manitoba was directly implementing the HIV prevention lying-in ably supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations Avahan project.13 The organizations collectivization and titular registering as Ashodaya Samithi was done in December 2005. Community mobilization since then has today resulted in the formation of the community based organization to take ownership of HIV awareness, prevention care, support activities and beginning of an entrepreneurial venture in the form of c ommunity kitchens.The second organization under study is Akshay Patra. Children from economically weaker sections are forced to seek work in assign of education. Some of those who do manage to attend the school drop out to feed themselves and their families while others are known to perform poorly because of short help spans and extreme hunger. Realizing that a nutritious school meal is an effective means of gettingunderprivileged childrencome to school and complete their education, Akshay Patra was create as a not-for-profit organization in June 2000. The purpose of the organization in their words is to provide boundless food for education, through modern community kitchens, thus freeing children from the vicious cycle of poverty and ensuring them an education.14Objectives of the studyThe main objectives of the current study are toUnderstand the evolution of the concept of community kitchens in India try a socio-economic profile of the respondents who are engaged in community k itchen in both settings (of the cases undertaken)Analyze the implementation of community kitchen undertaken by different organizations namely Ashodaya Samiti and Akshaya PatraStudy how community kitchen is serving as a means to break social barriers (as demonstrated by Ashodaya Samiti).Understand how community kitchen could be a potential instrument for eradicating hunger among school going children in the context of mid-day meal programme of Akshay Patra.Analyse the constraints in mobilizing the resources to keep the community kitchen a sustainable enterprise.MethodologyData collection for the research was done in two major organizations, Ashodaya Samiti in Mysore and Akshay Patra in Bangalore. The period of data collection was from 10.02.2010 to 22.02.2010. The data collection involved personal visits to both the organizations, interviews, focus group discussions and -participant observations.The current exploratory study attempts to understand the functioning of the community ki tchens. both primary and secondary sources of data have been collected for the study. The secondary data for the study came from annual reports of the organizations, websites, documentaries and media reports that have been provided by the organizations. The primary data for the study was collected from a diverse group of individuals engaged with both the organizations. In Ashodaya Samiti focus group discussions were carried out with the 20 sex workers who are the key in managing and operating the community kitchen. Individual in dept interviews were also carried out with 2 senior officials of the organization. The interview schedule consisted of open ended questions to include more information, their feelings, attitudes and understanding of the subject of community kitchen. In Akshay Patra data was collected through participant observation and interview schedules. Interviews were carried out with the workers in the kitchen to understand the mechanization of the operations. In-debt i nterviews were also carried out with the media instance of the organization and the programme director. Visits to the kitchen on daily basis allowed an in-depth investigation of the process of food preparation and its distribution among the schools across the city.In this study in depth interview was useful in understanding the concepts link up to community kitchens. The tool was helpful as it ensured that I received detailed information which helped me in exploring the idea to its depth.Focus group discussions were used as a form of qualitative research in which a group of people which included male, female and transgender sex workers of Ashodaya Samiti were asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes towards sex work as their livelihood, need to collaborate at community level, evolution of the organization from heath interventions to community kitchen, empowerment through community kitchens and their future expectations from the project. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants were free to talk with other group members.Participant observation which has its roots in the traditional ethnographic research was used a qualitative research strategy. Participation and observations were carried to varying degrees to study the communitys daily activities in both the cases (Ashodaya Samiti and Akshay Patra). Participant observation took place in the community settings, in locations like the sex workers day care centers, the Ashodaya hotel, community kitchen of Akshay patra which had direct relevance to the research questions.Engagement was done in such a manner such data could be collected by observing what life is like for an insider while remaining, inevitably, an outsider. While in these community settings, careful, line of merchandise notes were made to record all observations.Data AnalysisThe current section provides an overview of both the organizations included in the study i.e. Ashodaya Samiti and Akshaya Pa tra.Ashodaya SamitiCommunity kitchen used to break social barriersThe first case that is presented in this section is the Ashodaya Samiti. The history of Ashodaya Samiti has to be seen in the backdrop of project Avahan. In the year 2003 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded an India Aids initiative to reduce the spread of HIV in India under the project AVAHAN. Avahan was set up as a far ranging Aids prevention project, and has been a success story since its inception. Under the aegis of the project aids prevention work is carried out in six major sates in India. Within these states, it provides, prevention services to nearly 200,000 female sex workers, 60,000 high-risk men who have sex with men, and 20,000 injecting drug users, together with 5 million men at risk. 15 In 2003, UNAIDS studies reported that Asia presented the greatest risk of expansion of the global epidemic. The HIV cases have been on a continuous rise since the past decade. The major reasons for that are high prev alence of unsafe sex work and injecting drug users. Initial interventions by Avahan indicated that HIV transmission in south India was primarily sexual, and in the north-east mainly related to injecting drug use.16The Indian national resolution had a sound strategy for addressing high-risk groups. However, coverage of these groups was variable across the states and national average strikingly low.17 18 The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation designed a programme with help of technical experts to look into the HIV and aids prevention strategies. The project began with full co-operation from the Indian government. Avahans aim was to help slow the transmission of HIV to the general population by raising prevention coverage of high-risk and bridge groups to scale by achieving saturation levels (over 80 percent) across large geographic areas. Considering the scale of the country the project was magnanimous in its objectives. To avoid any complications the project began with local level in volvement in operations and planning.Avahan in KarnatakaAs mentioned earlier, the project was started in six high prevalence states namely Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur and Nagaland. The prevalence in the first four states was predominantly due to male, female and transgender sex workers. In the other two states there were high incidences of the spread of virus due to injecting of drugs among the people.In Karnataka, University of Manitoba took the initiative to take up the project in the 18 of the 30 districts. Among the 18 districts, in 16 districts the i