The Food Helpline

The company Roma (my wife) works at, has launched many initiatives to help employees deal with Covid. One of those initiatives was delivering food to employee's homes where someone was isolating due to Covid.

When it was first announced a year back, I had thought "Sounds nice, but I wonder who will use it, and promptly forgot about it as a gimmick". Thinking about food never really factored in my cognitive load since Roma manages the groceries and help // cook.

Two weeks back, Roma tested positive. This resulted in a week long isolation, which meant our cook could not come. Our son's nanny took care of food for a week.

A week later, Roma recovered but then, our son and his nanny tested positive. Thankfully, they were both asymptomatic but we now needed to isolate again for a week.

Thinking about food still did not figure in my cognitive load and I carried on with work. The next day I noticed a food tray delivered for breakfast. And then lunch, and dinner.

Turns out, Roma had called her company's helpline and requested for meals - The person at the helpline just asked two questions

• What meals do you need? ( Breakfast, lunch, dinner or all three meals)
• How many meals do you need?

All of a sudden, this perk did not feel gimmicky. Thank you Fidelity International ??

The company is big on diversity and inclusion and I realised I was seeing the company's culture of empathy in action (In most households, it is usually women who bear the entire cognitive load of organising food, managing help and other household chores) - If there had been no women on the Covid Taskforce, this 'problem' might not have a solution.

Delivering the food also provides employment to the office canteen workers and the transport workers who have not had much work for the last 2 years.

Here is an interesting experiment - Think about answers to these two questions:

1. Does your company deliver food for your family if someone is sick with Covid at home?
2. How many women are there in senior / middle management at your company.

While eating the food yesterday, another thought struck me.

We are privileged enough that we could have ordered food online from restaurants but we chose the company option because it was healthier ( just simple dal, sabzi, rotis, rice, sweet) and there was no cognitive load ( what to order and from where )

What if there was a 'Food Helpline' where people who need food can get it - No questions asked. It can be free for those who don't have money, and those who can afford it 'pay-as-they-wish'

While discussing this, realised there are organisations and charities who provide free food to the under privileged and it seems like a 'solved' problem.

1. But is hunger really a solved problem in India?
2. We know there is a lot of poverty, but do we know the extent of the poverty in India?
3. Do we know how many people go hungry everyday?

Right now, these 3 questions seem to be in my head (against my wish if I may add) - If you have any information about this / ideas and are willing to share, am all ears.