India will soon have access to a common helpline and a mobile application to donate food to the needy. FSSAI (the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) and NASSCOM Foundation signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) recently to jointly build a technology platform for food donation in India.
It would have a 24-hour helpline number, an interactive application and a back-end website to connect donors with surplus food to food distribution organisations, and will lead to the seamless distribution of surplus food to the needy across the country.
This platform will also facilitate registration of surplus food distribution organisations, and initially, the network of 81 such organisations across India, known as the Indian Food Sharing Alliance (IFSA), will be a part of this platform.
Yet to be named, this much-needed solution will provide an easy accessible platform that will cater to different stakeholders, including food businesses, hoteliers, caterers and individuals, and facilitate food donations in any part of the country.
Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI, along with Ashok Pamidi, chief executive officer, NASSCOM Foundation during the exchange of MoU
Further, NASSCOM Foundation and FSSAI also discussed the possibility of building a technology platform together for the launch of the verified milk vendors’ scheme in order to address the issues of quality and safety in raw milk that is supplied directly to consumers by unorganised milk vendors.
During the meeting, Pawan Kumar Agarwal, chief executive officer, FSSAI, also discussed the road-map for the inclusion of the technology sector under the umbrella of Eat Right Campus initiative.
He added that the technology industry, today, was one of the largest private sector employers of the diverse talent base in India.
As technocrats spend at least one-third of their day at their workplace, and consume at least one meal in their workplace canteens/cafeterias, it is important for this sector to ensure availability of safe food and healthy diets for its employees.
Eat Right Campus (ERC) certification for NASSCOM’s own headquarters is already underway, and the Eat Right Campus (ERC) certification for the technology sector would certainly be an example for other industries to follow.
Expressing happiness on this collaboration, Agarwal congratulated the NASSCOM Foundation team for the support extended. He said that this would definitely provide a recognition to the organisations involved in surplus food distribution, and would help in reducing the wastage of food in the country through food donation.
Ashok Pamidi, chief executive officer, NASSCOM Foundation, highlighted that the collaboration with FSSAI was a significant step in the direction of leveraging Tech for Good Solutions and was hopeful of more such engagements in future.