What started as a conversation among friends on facilitating those challenged with providing food for their families soon turned into an organisation addressing hunger and food deprivation in a bid to fight food insecurity. Since its inception, Rizq has been working in Lahore and Islamabad to alleviate the effects of food deprivation.

“We wanted to help those who didn’t have the means to eat or provide for their families,” says Qasim Javaid, a Rizq co-founder. The idea which was conceived a few years ago was put into action by Javaid and his two friends, Huzaifa Ahmed and Musa Aamir. “We decided we needed to do something for the needy.”

According to a report, 40 percent of food prepared in Pakistan is wasted. It comes to 36 million tons of food every year. “It is shocking to see the amount of food that is going to waste,” says Javaid. “This is a serious problem and we all need to put an end to it. No one should die of hunger.”

Out of a total of 113 countries in the Global Food Security Index of 2016, Pakistan ranks 78th while on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) it ranks 106th out of 119 countries, second only to Afghanistan in the region. According to the World Food Programme, 43 percent of Pakistan’s population faces food insecurity. Of this percentage, 18 percent severely lack access to food.

The number of malnourished Pakistanis has increased since the early 1990s from 24 million to 45 million in 2008. Most of the population is suspected of being deficient in consumption of Vitamin A and D.

Rizq runs its operations on a simple slogan: Lack of compassion is true poverty; its abundance is Rizq. The organisation is running five operations under its banner. These include Rizq Bachao, Rizq School Lunch, Rizq Khana, Rizq Ration and Rizq Daig.

For Rizq Bachao service, the organisation asks people not to let food go to waste and reach out to them whenever they have excess food. You can either take the food to the Food Bank sites or call them up so that their team can pick the leftover food. A few restaurants, hotels and coffee shops have also joined hands with the organisation to offer leftover food so that it is provided to those in need.

In order to make food accessible to the masses under Rizq Khana service, two food points have been established in Lahore – in Sultan Park, Lahore Cantonment and in Raiwind – and two are operational in Islamabad – in Muslim Colony and Musharraf Colony. Food being served at these food points is sourced from central kitchens in both the cities which use high quality ingredients to prepare nutritious and hygienic food. Anybody can have a meal at any of these food points for Rs 30. To date these food points have served more than 400,000 people.

The Rizq Ration programme helps underprivileged families receive food assistance for 3 months. According to Javaid, a donation of Rs 3,000 is sufficient to provide a family of six with 20 kg flour, 5 kg rice, 3 litres oil, tea and dates. Over the past three years, the organisation has managed to serve 6,500 families with the help of donor organisations and individuals. Now the organisation has generated funds to serve 600 families per month.

For Rizq Daig service, a donor can sponsor a daig to be distributed amongst the needy. Though the service started a few months ago, with the help of donors 4,500 daigs have been distributed in both cities in different communities.

Under their Rizq School Lunch programme, the organisation plans to adopt underprivileged schools (public as well as private) to provide children with nutritious lunches. Musa Aamir tells The News on Sunday (TNS) that they are trying to collaborate with corporate businesses to commence this project in the near future.

He says he believes overcoming greed and apathy is the key to food security.

The Rizq team says it is unfortunate that there is no culture of establishing food banks to cater to the needy. “Two things are urgently required: creating awareness about hunger and food security; and legislation related to food waste,” says Javaid.

“Rizq is closely working with the Punjab government to introduce legislation regarding food wastage. Moreover, we are engaging with the government to provide tax rewards for those who help organisations utilising leftover food – this would certainly be very encouraging.”

While the Rizq team believes that there is a long way to go before the nation becomes fully capable of combatting food insecurity, they believe legislation and awareness campaigns can help shape social attitudes and abilities needed to address hunger and food insecurity.

The writer is a staff member and can be reached at warraichshehryar@gmail.com