Voices

Food security: Why Karnataka’s Indira Canteens need revival

After COVID-19, the lack of funding, unchanged menu and sidelining of the initiative had led to the decline of customers to Indira Canteens.

Written by : Amalendu Jyotishi, Gummadi Sridevi, ,

The 2022 Global Hunger Index report has ranked India 106 out of 121 countries. With a score of 29.1, India is stratified as an economy under the serious category stage. With rapid urbanisation, the epicentre of hunger and food insecurity is rapidly shifting towards the urban region. Karnataka’s poverty rate in the urban area stands at 15.25%, which is higher than the national average of 13.7%. Bengaluru’s rapid wealth creation is evidenced by the fact that it contributes 36% of the state’s GDP on its own, but this has no discernible impact on the plight of those living in poverty here.

We look at Karnataka’s Indira Canteens that went through a dormant phase and will be revived now. Started on August 16, 2017, there are now over 101 canteens across Bengaluru. The purpose of these canteens was to provide affordable, hygienic and quality meals to the hungry. Indira canteen provides three-time meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The breakfast includes puliyogare, kharabath, pongal and rava khichadi. Lunch is mostly sambar, curd rice, and at times kheer along with pickle. The dinner menu includes tomato bath, vegetable bath, bisi bele bath and curd rice. The canteens open for each meal and close down after the stipulated time. The timing for canteens for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is from 7:30 am–10 am, 12:30 pm-3 pm, and 7:30 pm-9 pm, respectively.

The canteens provide hygienic, nutritious food at Rs 5 for breakfast and Rs 10 for meals. We surveyed and interacted with 100 customers in 25 canteens across Bengaluru between December 2022 and March 2023. We observed that Indira Canteens were accessed by students, UPSC aspirants, auto drivers, hospital staff, construction workers, other daily wage workers, and many more categories of people.

Attracting cross-section of people

The canteens attract people of various ages and work cultures including students as well as construction workers and other individuals engaged in informal employment. A significant number of students and paramedics were observed visiting the canteen near the KC General Hospital in ward 71 (Dattatreya Temple) during the survey. Canteens located near metro stations and along the main roads, like the one in Ward 105, Agrahara Dasarahalli near Kuvempu metro station were observed to be filled with students from the nearby PU college and workers. There was a canteen in Attiguppe situated close to several UPSC coaching institutes, where civil service aspirants were regular visitors to the canteen and found it financially accessible.

Very popular with the student community

In general, Indira Canteens are visited by the student community, especially the college and PU students. The reasons for relying on Indira Canteens can be various, such as lunch not being provided at homes, affordability and accessibility. “The food is fine. I have it whenever I can. Sometimes the menu gets too repetitive that I choose to have it from another place though it will not be economical as here,” says Vishnu, a student who visits the Indira canteen in Madivala.

The canteen menu has been prepared according to the daily nutritional requirement. But as stated by Vishu, many beneficiaries put forth the need for a change in the food items provided in the canteen rather than being repetitive. They say this will help increase the number of beneficiaries accessing the canteens. Some of the supervisors claimed that after the 2018 election, and especially after 2019, the canteens received less attention. The change in contractors during this period also led to changes in the food menu.

“The rates are the key attraction for people coming to the canteens,” said Manjunath, a graduate, who was accompanied by his friends in the Adugodi canteen. Among the hundred respondents, when asked about the main reason to visit the canteens, all of them unanimously voted for affordability. The price at which food is provided is affordable, which makes people access the canteen service whereas ‘having a meal from a hotel would cost around a minimum of Rs 100 said one of the respondents. The food menu and quality across different canteens were the same.

Most canteens were visited by auto drivers, students and construction workers. Even the supervisors of most of the canteens stated that there were comparatively fewer female customers. Kannadiga visitors frequented the canteens more than migrant populations from other states. Out of 100 customers we interacted with, 72 were Kannadigas and 28 were from outside the state. We also found that the canteens were accessed by a majority male population. It is, therefore, important to make the canteen more accessible to the female and other genders.

Customer satisfaction linked to their income levels

We found that beneficiaries’ satisfaction levels were negatively correlated with their income levels. Beneficiaries with lower incomes are more satisfied with the canteen services than those in the higher income brackets. Regarding the level of income and frequency of visits by the beneficiaries to the canteen, our results show that the beneficiary with a higher income visits the canteen fewer times than the beneficiary with a lower income. This also indicates that the canteen services are utilised more by the people who are in need and depend on this affordable canteen to address their hunger and food insecurity. However, there is a danger in branding these canteens for poor or low-income groups. It may prevent a genuinely hungry person from accessing affordable food. After all, food security, by definition, is the availability and access to food by all persons at all times.

When it came to infrastructure, out of twenty-five canteens visited, most of them were surrounded by trees making the visitors able to stand and have food outdoors even during lunchtime. All the Indira Canteens have both indoor and outdoor facilities to have food but there are no seating facilities. Canteens look the same in terms of structural attributes (grey-coloured walls and green gates) making them easy to spot. There are handwash facilities and drinking water cans provided in the canteen premises. Most of the customers wanted the canteen to be more hygienic, especially the drinking water provision. It was seen in earlier times, the canteen staff and workers were in uniforms and caps. During the COVID-19 period, they followed necessary precautions such as wearing masks, caps, gloves, etc. However, none of the practices were followed throughout our visits to the canteens.

No food wastage, but low footfall a problem

As per the Annual Administration Report of the Directorate of Municipal Administration, there are 248 Indira Canteens, out of which 171 canteens have kitchens and 77 as canteen outlets. There are 15 master kitchens. Some of the canteens we visited were serving food delivered from the master kitchens located in Kempegowda Nagar and TC Palya. None of the canteens we visited reported food wastage as a problem. The problem they face now is low footfall. Some of the supervisors of the canteens also mentioned that post-COVID, the canteens are seeing a huge decline in customers. Higher footfall and timely release of funds would make the canteens a viable option for the contractors.

The location of the canteens too, plays an important role in the footfall in the canteen. The Indira Canteens in Vasanth Nagar are always seen crowded for breakfast. The canteen in Hoodi was filled with construction workers and students during lunchtime. At the same time, canteens like the one in ward 51, Vignanapura, situated a bit far from the main roads and bus stops, were empty.

Effect of funding crunch on the canteens

Indira Canteens was a success in the initial years of its implementation when people used to wait for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in front of the canteens around the stipulated time of opening. But after the change in regime in 2019, it saw neglect and political blame games about the quality of the food served. In the fiscal years 2017–18 and 2018–19, the canteens were supported with funding of Rs 100 and Rs 145 crore, respectively. No funds for the Indira Canteens scheme were released in 2020-21 and 2021-22, resulting in a fund crunch to run the canteens. For the year 2022-23, the BBMP budget allocation for Indira canteen was only Rs 60 crore without any additional budgetary allocation from the state government, a substantial decrease from the initial allocation, given for the operation of the canteens in the years 2017-18 and 2018-19.

The effects of reduced fund allocations were observed in delayed bill payments, non-payment of wages, and closure of several canteens. Many contractors claimed they had not been paid in full, leaving some canteens without access to water, electricity, and other necessities. Several canteens were left without water due to a payment dispute with the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), rendering those canteens unable to function effectively.

Why fewer women are accessing the canteens

The canteen supervisors have been appointed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the workers, appointed by various service providers on a contract basis. The workers were mostly men and women were seen in only a few canteens engaged in cleaning activities. This is also one important consideration, why there is less footfall of female customers in these canteens.

“Before COVID-19, there were six workers in the canteen including me, two for serving, two for cleaning, one cashier, and a Marshall, but post-COVID, the number of workers in the canteen have drastically scaled down to two and three,” says one of the Marshalls at a canteen. One of the canteens in Marathahalli when visited was functioning from a truck as there was ongoing construction where the canteen was earlier situated. The truck was crowded with people all around and there were only two workers, making it difficult for the functioning of the canteen.

“It has been months since the workers in the canteens have received their wages. They are not even able to leave their job and go as they have to receive a pending salary of 3-4 months. Amma (cleaning staff) is working here for months without getting her wages. I feel bad about them. They are really poor and work on a contract basis under a company,” said a Marshall at one of the canteens.

Out of 100 beneficiaries who interacted during the survey, 62% were male and just 38% were females. According to the supervisors, most of the canteens were also visited by men more than women and there was not even one canteen that was said to be visited by women more than men.

Most women opted to go to the canteen only when they didn’t bring their food or when the canteen was near their workspace. Some would occasionally stop by the nearby Indira Canteens while on their way to some other place rather than specifically intending to have a meal there. Most of the canteens have male workers and supervisors. On our visits to canteens, only one canteen in ward 51, Vijanapura, was found to have a female supervisor and workers, or else the canteens had just one cleaning staff as female.

It is essential to understand this gap and make efforts to increase the female population's access to the service. One of the main ways to achieve this will be the employment of more females into supervisor posts and the incorporation of female participation in the workforce. This will attract more women and girls to access the service. It is also essential to focus on creating awareness about the canteens and their latest changes, such as changes in the menu and giving more emphasis on cleanliness and proper infrastructure will increase the number of people visiting the canteens in general and also will help in increasing female participation.

The Indira Canteens play an important role in providing affordable food to address the hunger of people from various walks of life. The second observation is that the canteens are unable to attract women customers. The location of these canteen needs to be perceived safe for the women customers. The current structure of the contracts reinforces male dominance in managing the canteens. A proactive structural change to prioritise women like giving the contract to women Self Help Groups (SHGs), as in the case of Tamil Nadu, or to Kudumbashree in Kerala, could help to make the canteens’ perception safer for women and provide additional livelihood to the women SHGs.

Hunger is not something to trifle with. Political will and state intervention are essential ways to deal with food insecurity and hunger in the urbanscape. Such initiatives also require continuity, expansion, enhanced timing, and quality improvement beyond food security and address nutrition insecurity. As suvh, there is a need to extend these canteens beyond Bengaluru to the other urban areas of Karnataka.

(All names of the respondents have been changed to protect their identity.)

Gummadi Sridevi is a Professor in the School of Economics at the University of Hyderabad. Amalendu Jyotishi is a Professor School of Development at Azim Premji University. Vijaya Priya S is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Mount Carmel College. Malavika KS is a student at Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru. Views expressed here are the authors’ own.

This article is part of IoE - University of Hyderabad funded project titled “Understanding and Addressing Food and Nutrition Security Issues among Vulnerable Groups.” The authors thank UoH-IoE for the funding support.

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