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Kerala: From crime to the kitchen, 'Food for Freedom' initiative looks to spread wings

As the Kerala diner run by dons and those watching them like hawks completes a year, Jiby J Kattakayam discovers that Food For Freedom is ready to expand

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Entry to the indoor seating area of Food For Freedom cafeteria
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When the Kerala Prisons and Correctional Services Department began a cafeteria on the Central Jail premises in the state's capital, Thiruvananthapuram, few expected the venture to find patrons. After all, jail is a dreaded word.

Nearly a year into its opening, Food For Freedom has become a permanent fixture in the Southern city. And with good reason. Without compromising on taste or quality, it serves some of the most affordable dishes in comfortable settings: both indoor and outdoor. The only carping points, for those who are demanding, would be the limited menu and self-service.

When my friend told me, two people could easily have lunch here under Rs 100, I thought he was taking me for a ride. But one look at the menu stuck on the cash counter brought a smile to my face. We ordered 10 chappatis, a plate each of chicken curry, a vegetable curry and two gooseberry juices. The chappatis cost Rs 2 per piece; the chicken curry, a tad too spicy for my liking, was just Rs 20; and the vegetable curry, a Kerala version of the north Indian korma with a heavy base of coconut oil, came for Rs 10. The gooseberry juice, thankfully, was sweetened just right and cost Rs 20 per glass. The café also serves chicken biryani for Rs 60, chilli chicken for Rs 40, egg curry for Rs 12 and five idlis and sambar at breakfast for Rs 20.

Living in inflationary times, a lunch costing Rs 90 for two is a rare option for the middle class; most non-veg meals would cost Rs 150, just for one.

Food For Freedom employs nine prison inmates and nine prison staff per shift. With the cafe open from 6 am to 9 pm, there are two shifts. Only prisoners who had earned the trust of jail wardens were eligible. "We look at their case histories and conduct in prison. Since the cafe opens to the main road and the public move in and out freely, we have to be very careful about whom we post here," says Officer Vishnu Chandran.

Rs 117 is credited to the prisoners' accounts for each day's work. An attempt to start a conversation with a prisoner, dressed in white shirt and mundu (Kerala dhoti), while he cleaned tables, ended abruptly with the prisoner cupping his mouth to indicate that the prison officials have forbid him from speaking to the patrons. The jail personnel said that the cafe records average daily sales of Rs 85,000, which goes up to Rs 1.5 lakh on hartals and holidays, both very common in Kerala. Not surprisingly, the prisons department is expanding operations and building a larger kitchen to expand the menu and cater to the growing clientele. The low wages paid to prisoners, no doubt, subsidise the cafeteria. For those in search of different eating experiences and low-cost dining options, Food For Freedom fits the bill on both counts.

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