For COVID-hit families, food is a call away

Home chefs, cloud kitchens and restaurants now ensuring a steady supply of food for those affected

The surge in COVID-19 cases in Hyderabad over the last few weeks has prompted citizens to step up and help those affected. Some offer to pick up and drop essentials and medicines, some collate information on tele-consulting facilities, hospital beds and oxygen cylinders, while others are helping with day-to-day food requirements. Tiffin centres, cloud kitchens and home chefs have been cooking more, to ensure that affected families get their daily intake of nutritious meals. Third-party delivery services such as Swiggy Genie, Dunzo and Rapido are pressed into service to deliver packages to different localities in the city. Anil Agarwal of Sai Kailash Dhaba in Attapur has been receiving an average of 100 orders per day for lunch and dinner. “My wife, friends and family are helping to keep this service running. We are taking orders for lunch and dinner and deliver in Attapur, Malakpet, Koti, Narsingi, Shamshabad and Nalanda Nagar,” he says. The dhaba began catering to pandemic-affected families in 2020 and the demand has gone up, with the recent spurt in cases. A 14-day lunch package costs approximately ₹4000 and lunch and dinner packages cost ₹6000.