Food and Welfare: A Case Study of Annapurna Canteens in Hyderabad
Food and Welfare: A Case Study of Annapurna Canteens in Hyderabad
Food and Welfare: A Case Study of Annapurna Canteens in Hyderabad
Urbanization is a complex phenomenon that leads to workforce with contract employment, growth of slums and slum
numerous transitions, from demographic alterations and structural population lacking elementary health and hygiene facilities, make
shifts in the nature of employment to something as basic as urban food for a situation of food and nutrition emergency in urban India. This is
crises. It also impacts the ways in which society, market forces, and aggravated by the fact that a cross section of domestic workers,
state actors respond and adapt to these socio-economic and cultural street vendors, and unskilled workers constitute a sizeable
changes. population in the urban centres of India and the highly informal
nature of employment generally fetches irregular and low income,
India, one of the most prominent developing countries,
thereby providing relatively poorer access to safe and nutritious
termed as Asia's third largest economy and second most populous
food.
nation, is not excluded from the ongoing scenario of urban food crises.
India has been witnessing the triple dynamics of growth, rapid
The mere availability of food in the urban markets
urbanization and growing poverty. According to 2014 Global Hunger
cannot guarantee food security in an environment where access and
Index, India ranks 55 out of the world's 120 hungriest countries, much
affordability has been severely compromised by patterns of
behind other South Asian countries such as Nepal and Sri Lanka. In
employment and by increasing prices of essential goods. This is
contrast to the current hype about India's high growth rate, it is
because urban poverty is multidimensional, comprising of aspects
astonishing that about 25 per cent of Indians go to sleep without food
such as livelihood, access to shelter, health, sanitation, and
(Lal, 2016). Therefore, it is evident that the current Indian model of
education services, etc. The lower levels of support structures and
urbanization is exclusionary in nature, having less space and resources
excessive monetization in urban locations have serious implications
for the urban poor with a considerable section of the urban population
for poor households. Several studies have highlighted that poverty
facing serious food insecurity as the urban economy grows rapidly.
declines at a much lower rate in urban areas as compared to rural
areas (UN’s World Food Programme 2010 & M.S. Swaminathan
Research Foundation, 2011).
For such reasons, Governments at the Centre and States Following the path set by Tamil Nadu1, several states
have worked on two fronts to tackle the challenge of food insecurity in have been rolling out “soup kitchens” for the poor in a bid to tackle
India. One is through poverty alleviation programs and second is the food insecurity in Indian cities. Usually functional under a
through the Public Distribution System, which offers subsidised grains government agency, soup kitchens are meal centres where safe
and essential items. In addition to these, in the last few years, some and nutritious food is offered to the masses at a reasonably low
states have introduced subsidised food canteen programs – a social price. The programs entail a chain of low cost canteens serving
welfare initiative dating back to 2013 to tackle the food insecurity of the cooked food across the city. According to media reports, the
urban populace. (While Jharkhand introduced subsidised food canteens subsidised food canteens in most states have been very popular.
first in 2011, Tamil Nadu which introduced it in 2013 has been cited as the Intended to serve the urban poor – especially the working poor,
most successful case). elderly, unemployed, destitute, and migrants – these canteens
usually serve food for 10 rupees or much less.
These canteens arrive at a particular point of time where
One other important addition to the trend of
there is high informalization of employment and rising food prices,
subsidised food canteens has been the introduction of “Annapurna”
posing governments with a new challenge. Governments are responding
canteens in Hyderabad by The Greater Hyderabad Municipal
by entering into new associations (subsidized canteens) with the market
Corporation (GHMC) in 2014, to provide safe and hygienic food at
to address this food insecurity.
affordable rates for the urban poor. This report is a study to
understand the functioning of Annapurna scheme in Hyderabad.
The concept of subsidised food canteens was popularised
after the success of “Amma” canteens in Tamil Nadu. Meant to provide
wholesome food at heavily subsidized rates, the canteens which are run
by the government but staffed by women from self-help groups have
been a runaway success (Doval, 2017).
II. CONFRONTING THE WIDESPREAD HUNGER: A REVIEW OF DIFFERENT STATE INITIATIVES 3
Table 2.1 Comparative Table of Institutions employed by States to
Food subsidy canteens have been introduced in operate Food Subsidy Canteens in India
different states before and after the launch of Annapurna canteens in
Hyderabad. The primary objective of such schemes in all states has
been to provide safe, hygienic and affordable meals to the poor
sections of the population. When situated in urban areas, these
schemes are meant to specifically cater to the food needs of urban
poor. Table 2.1 provides a comparitive representation of the schemes
launched by various states in India according to;
i. Price of the food
ii. Mode of operation of the scheme
iii. Number of meals provided as a part of the scheme.
Table 2.1 reveals that not all the states have opted to
provide meals throughout the day but indicating that attempt is to
provide at least one meal in a day, which is usually the lunch. Cost of all
meals however range between Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 with an exception to
Amma Canteens in Tamil Nadu which provide food for as low as Rs. 1.
One of the most important additions to the trend of The state of Telangana has a spatial spread of a large
subsidised food canteens has been the introduction of “Annapurna” number of small, medium, and large towns. Therefore, experiences
canteens in Hyderabad. “Annapurna” canteens (anna meaning food, heavy migration in all sectors including construction and service
purna meaning complete), thereby loosely translates into “provider of sectors. Migration due to intensification of agrarian crisis is
complete meal”, are run by The Greater Hyderabad Municipal concentrated largely to bigger cities and Hyderabad is one such
Corporation (GHMC) to provide safe and hygienic food minimal prices city.
through the Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation
A majority of the migrant workers in the urban
(“Addressing the Urban Hunger”, n.d.)
municipalities who are also unskilled, lack basic amenities including
safe drinking water, sanitation, housing, and food at affordable
The Hare Krishna Movement Charitable Foundation is a
prices. The increasing cost of agricultural produce (grains,
branch of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).
vegetables) and street food affects this section of the population,
Hare Krishna Movement is based on the philosophy of “righteousness
particularly the urban poor, quite severely. In the backdrop of these
and moral duty towards the world”, and all the activities of the
challenges, the Annapurna canteens provide subsidised food as
foundation emerge from this mission. It has undertaken several projects
succour to the urban poor of Hyderabad.
to tackle the challenge of food insecurity such as “Bhojanamitra” – to
feed attendants in government hospitals and Akshaya Patra – to serve
mid-day meals to school children in different parts of the country, with Started
with 8 Serving
specific focus to end classroom hunger. The HKM partnered with GHMC Presently
centres in 25,000
132
in March 2014 and has been successfully providing hot and clean food to 2014 customers
Centres
per day
numerous beneficiaries such as “labour, autowalas, labour from various
industries, students, and many more” (“Annapurna”, n.d.).
VI. INSTITUTIONAL DESIGN
The erstwhile Planning Commission of India advocated Post this proposal, the state body assumed an active
that the government can collaborate with private organizations to role in the program after analysing the possible importance of
provide services as funding agency to support the private provider, as a subsidised food canteens at the present time.
buyer of long term services or as a coordinator of the service provided
(Planning Commission, 2004). Of the various forms of collaboration in Annapurna Model
the PPP model specified in the same report, Annapurna scheme Annapurna Scheme is a collaboration between the Greater
employs a joint sharing of funding and joint management model. Hyderabad Municipal corporation and the Hare Krishna Movement.
Though there is an absence of an official document that spells out the GHMC, representative of the State, is responsible for partial
specifics of the scheme, an interview with the GHMC official revealed funding, facilitating delivery of the entire scheme, monitoring and
that the Annapurna scheme essentially operates as a PPP model. partial staffing and the Hare Krishna Movement is responsible for
Genesis of this project, according to the GHMC official, can be traced to partial staffing, partial funding and management of meals.
HKM seeking support from GHMC in catering to large scale food needs, Customers also have a financial contribution in this scheme wherein
of vulnerable populations, across the city at subsidized rates. they pay Rs. 5 as the cost per meal.
A major portion of funding responsibilities lie with the While GHMC and Hare Krishna Movement jointly
GHMC which provides 60-70% of the total cost of the scheme. Largely share the responsibility of hiring staff, there is negligible
responsible for the preparing meals and distributing, the Hare Krishna information on the nature of sharing of responsibilities in this
Movement contributes around 7.6 % of the cost and the customers regard. There are no specific procedures for the selection of
bear around 19.2% of the cost which comes upto Rs. 5 per plate being candidates as canteen supervisors.
borne by the customers. There is a provision of corporate donations
towards GHMC to support the program; the government has also Different numbers of supervisors are placed in
given a 100% income tax exemption for donations made to the different canteens depending on the needs of the area. If a canteen
Akshaya Patra Foundation, established under the Hare Krishna has a large customer base, there will be more than one supervisor, if
Movement, under section 35 AC/80GGA (b) of the Income Tax Act. the number of customers are moderate then the shop will have only
one supervisor. All canteen supervisors are informal workers; they
Since there is no policy document, the information
are not permanently employed by the state government or the
provided here has been drawn from various interviews with GHMC
municipal corporation.
officials and Hare Krishna Movements members.
state to retain clear customer focus as the GHMC is not required to scheme, a critical examination is needed for further clarity in PPP
concern itself with the everyday meal preparation and delivery arrangements. The exact gaps in the design and delivery of the
activities scheme will be discussed in detailed in the following chapter.
VII. GAUGING THE SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE ANNAPURNA CANTEENS: AN ANALYSIS
A. MAPPING BENEFICIARIES
13
A broad profile of the 203 beneficiaries and 58 The graph below indicates that majority of customers
supervisors followed by the inferences drawn from the customer eat at the canteen almost regularly, either on a daily or weekly
interviews are analysed in the following sections. basis. This indicates that there are a good number of beneficiaries
are consistent in their visits to the canteens and therefore can be
The proportion of customers goes down with the
labelled as “regular” customer. At the same, the regularity indicates
increasing level of income, indicating that individuals with relatively
a critical fact of satisfaction with respect to the food being served .
higher incomes are less likely to avail the facilities of Annapurna
canteens. Therefore, the given sample points out that the potential There is a need to understand reasons for regularity
customers for the canteens are individuals with low to medium range to recognize the importance of the Annapurna scheme. A careful
income. examination into the clientele experience provides explanations to
Income Distribution (monthly) this regularity of returning to Annapurna Canteens for consumption,
70 which will be discussed in subsequent sections.
60 Frequency of consumption based on monthly
50 income
40 100%
90%
30 80%
20 70%
60%
10 50%
40%
0 30%
20%
10%
0%
“Earlier, I had no option but to wait until night so that I can cook and have dinner. Annapurna canteens
have addressed my concerns in way I never imagined.”
-Trinath, a former manual scavenger from Odisha, currently employed as a cleaner
Survey also reveals limited religious heterogeneity 15
Alternative sources of food
among the consumers.
120
NA
This graph here illustrates that most preferred
alternative to Annapurna canteens is home-cooked food. Given
ST
the low cost of food at Annapurna, along with nutrition and
Daily 4-5 times a week 1-3 times a week First time demonstrate a serious challenge of food insecurity in urban
centres which could be a plausible explanation for regularity.
Overlapping vulnerabilities Third, the proportion of regular customers who are
informal workers as well as migrants stands at 40.89 percent. This
The below graph highlights the proportion of regular
informs us about the overlapping nature of vulnerabilities that often
customers who are vulnerable because of either being a migrant or
defines the urban poor. The Annapurna canteens serve as a positive
working in the informal sector. First proportion of regular customers
step towards catering to needs of the urban poor.The graph here
who are employed in the informal sector stands high at 73.4 percent.
depicts the overlapping vulnerabilities of 117 regular customers out of
Also indicates that informal sector workers are disproportionally
the 203 customers interviewed.
disadvantaged in terms of food security.
36.45%
Second, the proportion of regular customers who are
36.50%
migrants stands at 47.78 percent, indicating a substantial presence of 36.00%
Christian
2%
Local
Male 77%
95% Hindu
93%
A total of 58 supervisors were interviewed from 58 The findings from the survey reveal that most of
Annapurna canteens. The inferences drawn from the customer the supervisors were Hindus, 3% of the supervisors were Muslims,
interviews are thematically analysed in the following section. 2% were Christians and 2% belonged to other religions like
Buddhism While reasons of this concentration of ownership in the
The study revealed that there is a strong gender
hands of one religion are unknown, indicates easy access for
imbalance among supervisors very much similar to the gender
individuals belonging to a particular religion to become
imbalance in consumption patterns. Out of the 58 supervisors, only 5
supervisors.
percent were women. The graph below points out the skewness
towards male ownership. This scenario is not starkly different from the Around 80% of the supervisors were observed to
overall business ownership by women in the country. Even in the be locals and merely 21% were migrants. This reiterates the fact
present day very less women are seen owning or managing that local individuals have more access to information and options
businesses. to participate in such programs as compared to migrants.
Wage Distribution No. of supervisors wearing
headcover 19
NA
14000-15999
Yes
12000-13999 17%
10000-11999
8000-9999
6000-7999
4000-5999
2000- 3999
0- 1999
No
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 83% No. of supervisors wearing gloves
2000- 4000- 6000- 8000- 10000- 12000- 14000-
0- 1999 NA
3999 5999 7999 9999 11999 13999 15999
Series1 0 12 13 10 6 7 5 2 3
No
41%
During the study, it was understood that supervisors get
paid depending on the number of meals sold per day earning about
Yes
earning Rs. 1 per plate sold. Most of the supervisors have been 59%
observed to be earning between Rs.4000- Rs. 6000 by spending two to
three hours a day with an average of 150-200 plates sold each
afternoon. The study also revealed that most of the supervisors were Study reveals that in most areas there were proper dustbins,
also involved in other jobs in the remaining time of the day to earn however, in some canteens the dustbins were full and the garbage
extra income. This scheme does seem to have generated meaningful was littered around the canteen. Here, the garbage was collected
employment for the supervisors working in the kiosks. in big black bags which were later disposed in the nearby public
dustbins. However, not all shops had a proper waste disposal
Elements of hygiene were studied by collecting data on system. Most of the shops were witness to over-flowing make
usage of equipment such as gloves and headgear. The graphs on the shift garbage bins on the street. Waste disposal mechanisms are
right indicate a lack of awareness among the supervisors about the yet to be ensured along with appropriate trainings for staff to use
importance of the materials provided. the hygiene material provided to them.
C. SHARED EXPERIENCES OF ANNAPURNA CANTEEN CUSTOMERS
Convenience of time (as perceived by The graph indicates that majority of customers rated
customers)
the quality of food as good. A few customers, however, expressed that
2 5
improvements such as: i) serving of extra rice ii) more variety in the
36
Yes curries served iii) curries served be better cooked & iv) curd served in
all seasons.
No Quality (as perceived by the customers)
200 186
Neutal
150
NA (first time
customers) 100
160
50
5 7 5
0
Good Average Bad Can't say
Stipulated timing for Annapurna canteens from 12 to 1
According to several customers, this amount of rice is
pm was considered by customers as appropriate with a small number
not enough for daily wage labourers who work for more than eight
finding it unsuitable given the nature of their work. Several daily
hours a day. Customers from northern and western parts of India
wage labourers expressed that the canteen timings were
expressed that roti/ chapati should also be available as it forms an
inappropriate because they usually get off their work at 1 pm and it
important part of their regular meal. Increasing the quantity of rice
takes some time to reach the canteen, especially when the canteen is
provided per meal can be re-considered alongside incorporating
not nearby. Even when they manage to reach the canteen before it
chapati in the menu. Level of satisfaction
closes, they are not able to eat properly and take second helpings 200
165
because the food is nearly over. The concerns expressed by wage 150
B. Delivery gaps
seeking customer’s opinions and perspectives. The present study was Annapurna canteens should incorporate facilities for washing
able to develop a holistic understanding and gain perspective into the hands, especially because the customers eat primarily by their
functioning of Annapurna canteens because of active engagement with hands. Additionally, the report recommends that the quantity of
the customers. Therefore, the report argues that interacting with the water provided should be re-considered. Most customers
customers can provide useful insights for strengthening the urban food expressed that one medium-sized packet of water is often not
security environment, which is the chief rationale behind subsidised enough for a person after a wholesome meal. This
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