Mumbai Marathon 2018 | Dabbawalas to give leftover food to poor

Mumbai Dabbawalas also participated in the Mumbai Marathon for a cause this year. The 'Roti Bank' initiative of Mumbai dabbawalas helps to feed the homeless people on the street of the city. The dabbawala association participated in the Mumbai Marathon this year as well to promote their social cause.

"Through this platform, we wanted to spread the message — stop wasting food. After the marathon is over, we will be collecting the leftover food packets and distributing it among the homeless. We distribute the packets outside KEM hospital and Tata Memorial Hospital since many homeless people can be seen outside these hospitals. Most of the people who sit outside are relatives of the patients who are getting treated, but don't have shelter. Along with this, we also want to promote 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan', with the aim to keep the city clean after the marathon," said Subhash Talekar, spokesperson of Mumbai Dabbawala Association.

"We have received food packets from them this year as well. Last year, we distributed around 1,000 packets which had various fruits. The food packets were later distributed in various areas across the city — Haji Ali, Grant Road, Charni Road, to name a few," said Kailash Shinde, one of the dabbawalas.

Two years ago, the Mumbai dabbawalas started an initiative to distribute leftover food from parties, weddings, hotels, among the poor and homeless in the city. In order to make the process more systematic and reach out to as many people as possible, a separate NGO named Mumbai Roti Bank will be formed by dabbawalas, under the mentorship of D Sivanandhan, former Director General of Police.