About us
A kitchen, a route, and a promise not to miss a day
GiveBharat Foundation was registered in 2021 to solve one specific, unglamorous problem: the families camped outside a hospital who have stopped eating because medicine costs more than food. Today we serve 500+ fresh vegetarian meals every day in Bhopal — and publish exactly what each one costs, down to the packaging.
How the day actually runs
The kitchen is lit before dawn. Grain is bought monthly and vegetables weekly at the wholesale market, which is the single biggest reason a complete meal costs ₹40 instead of ₹55.
Cooking finishes in time for the food to be sealed into food-safe containers and loaded while it is still hot. The route reaches the hospital gates at the same time every day, because a queue people plan their morning around is only useful if it is predictable.
We do not means-test anyone at the gate. Patients' families, people in need, children from the settlements nearby — if you are in the line, you get a plate. The cost of getting that judgement wrong once is higher than the cost of a hundred meals.
What we hold to
Four commitments, including two that cost us money
Publish the number that hurts
When the grocery market pushed our cost per meal from ₹40 to ₹41.60, we published that instead of quietly serving a smaller portion.
No means test at the gate
We do not ask who deserves a meal. Getting that judgement wrong once costs more in dignity than a hundred meals cost in rice.
Every day, or it does not count
People plan their day around a queue that is reliable. Sundays, festivals, monsoon — the kitchen is lit before dawn regardless.
Say no to the wrong money
We turn down funding that requires our branding on the packaging, a photograph of every recipient, or a number made more presentable than it is.
Our story
Five years, honestly told
-
2021
Registered as a public charitable trust
A rented kitchen in Shahjahanabad and about 60 meals a day, carried to one hospital gate by four volunteers.
-
2022
Daily, not weekly
The decision that defined everything after it: serve every single day, including Sundays and festivals, or do not promise a queue at all.
-
2023
Past 250 meals a day
Second gate added. Also the year we started publishing the per-meal cost sheet, after a donor asked what the packaging cost and we could not answer precisely.
-
2024
500+ meals every day
Bulk grocery buying, a proper distribution route, and food-safe sealed containers throughout.
-
2024
Assam monsoon response
1,840 family relief kits over eleven days — our first work outside Bhopal, and a lesson in how badly the recovery phase gets funded.
-
2026
Where we are now
Still 500+ meals a day, still every day, and a published cost sheet that anyone can argue with.
Governance
Who is accountable
Our board meets quarterly and a summary of its minutes is published with the annual report. Trustees are unpaid; staff salaries are disclosed in bands.
Dr. Meenakshi Iyer
Chairperson
Physician; two decades in public health across Madhya Pradesh. Chairs the food-safety review.
Rajat Bhattacharya
Managing Trustee
Runs kitchen operations and the distribution route. Opens the kitchen most mornings.
Farida Qureshi
Trustee — Finance & Audit
Chartered accountant. Owns the per-meal cost sheet and signs every quarterly utilisation certificate.
Suresh Kumar Naik
Trustee — Community
Joined after leading a volunteer serving shift for a year. Represents the gate in every operational decision.
Ayesha Menon
Head of Programmes
Responsible for the daily meal count, the menu and the monitoring register.
Gopal Krishnan
Head of Partnerships
Former CSR lead at a listed manufacturer. Now on the other side of the table.
Judge us on the numbers, then decide
Read the cost sheet first if you like. The donate button will still be here afterwards.