These Bangalorean women cook for charity

Like many great ideas, this one came into being over a meal.
Passionate foodies Namee Lee Oberst and Nilima Parker, neighbours at upmarket gated community Palm Meadows in Whitefield, were discussing various ways to give back to society during a “brilliant meal” at Oberst’s house.

“We realised that we were eating really wonderful and exotic lunches almost every day, cooked by friends and neighbours from all parts of the world who live in Palm Meadows,” says Parker.

In Namee Oberst, they had a consummate, exacting hostess who knew how to throw super-successful parties — the other members of the group call the Korean-American the ‘Martha Stewart of Palm Meadows’. Above all, they were part of a social group that was interested in charity, but wanted to go about it in an unconventional way.

All of this came together in the form of Food For Cause, a not-for-profit community effort that takes a simple idea and runs with it.

Essentially, Food For Cause organises cooking events — fun, interactive cooking demonstrations conducted by chefs who specialise in various cuisines from around the world.

Participants in the cooking events buy ‘tickets’ — paying a set price to attend a cooking session and take away a recipe booklet containing the how-to of the meal they just cooked and details such as where to source some of the more exotic ingredients.

“The proceeds go to a charity designated for that event — one hundred percent. We don’t take a penny,” says Arati Nagaraj, who is in charge of public relations at Food For Cause.

All the core members of the group — besides Oberst, Parker and Nagaraj, there’s Dimple Shah, who handles marketing — work on a voluntary basis; in fact, they take turns to host the events and often donate part of the ingredients needed during the cook-out.

The chefs roped in to helm the show also donate ingredients.
The revenue generated is given to a charity or NGO of choice, carefully vetted by the members.

“People want to give, but it’s often so difficult to find the right organisations to support. You don’t want your money to end up funding someone’s bike or scooter,” says Parker.

The fact that the participants know the money will go to a recognised and reliable charity is what draws people to Food For Cause, adds Oberst. The group actively interacts with representatives of NGOs and there are follow ups to see for themselves the changes the funds have created.

Since its inception in April 2010, Food For Cause has bought over 1,000 pairs of shoes for local government school children, sponsored teacher hiring, school fairs and sponsored school supplies and meals.

Beneficiaries of the seven cook-outs that have taken place since the group’s first outing include Indira Gandhi International Academy (IGIA), a self-supporting school that cares for 300 children of refugees, as well as local government schools in Ramagondanahalli, Sidhapura and Nellurhalli.

Initially a cause that depended on word-of-mouth publicity and personal networking by the core members, since late last year Food For Cause has picked up some serious momentum with its Facebook page generating maximum interest, so much so that the upcoming Food For Cause event on February 12, featuring a couple who will cook Tunisian and Moroccan food, was overbooked within days of being announced. The proceeds from this will go to Karunashraya, a home for cancer patients in Marathalli.

“We don’t want to invite too many people, because that will mean diluting the cozy, interactive nature,” says Nagaraj. Also, since members and their friends host the gatherings at their own houses, and each dish on the menu is first scrutinised by Oberst during trial runs with the chefs, the group understandably wants to keep the numbers under control.

That doesn’t mean they don’t have big plans for the idea, though. A website is being designed, informs Dimple Shah, and efforts are on to get stores and supermarket chains to sponsor the ingredients and persuade corporates to match the collections.

Most of the core members are in Bangalore on short-term postings — Nagaraj is moving back to the US later this year — and they want others to take over the idea and carry it forward even if they are not around.

“We want there to be Food For Cause chapters across Bangalore. Why not?” asks Parker. “Yes, we enjoy food, but the cause has become so much bigger,” adds Nagaraj.
Contact: foodforcause@gmail.com.
Find them on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/eYJcTT