Kochi Corporation will set up a central kitchen at Manappatti Parambu with Rs 3 crore in corporate social responsibility assistance from Federal Bank, a facility expected to expand the city’s low-cost food programme and support the opening of Indira Canteens in nearby local bodies.
Mayor V K Minimol announced the plan while presiding over the fifth anniversary celebration of Samridhi@Kochi. She said the corporation intends to establish the facility in Ernakulam to increase Samridhi’s food production and distribution capacity.
The central kitchen is expected to help deliver meals to more people at a low cost. It will also support the expansion of the service under which three meals a day are provided for a total cost of Rs 50 through the Indira Canteen started as part of Samridhi.
Federal Bank has agreed to provide the Rs 3 crore CSR grant for the facility, according to the announcement. The corporation did not provide a commissioning date or details of the kitchen’s planned daily production capacity.
Samridhi began on October 7, 2021, as a collective of 14 Kudumbashree women during the tenure of former mayor M Anilkumar. It has since grown into an enterprise providing employment to more than 300 people, according to the corporation’s account of the programme.
The proposed kitchen is also intended to extend the Indira Canteen model beyond Kochi. Minimol said that although the state government’s call for Indira Canteens was first realised in Kochi, the new facility would enable such canteens to become operational in more local bodies in nearby areas.
The announcement places the project at the intersection of municipal food services and women’s employment. Samridhi’s operations are linked to Kudumbashree, and the anniversary event included the felicitation of 21 women employees who had completed five years of service.
Hibi Eden, MP, inaugurated the anniversary celebration, while T J Vinod, MLA, delivered the keynote address. Eden said the model, which provides food at low cost while creating employment, should become more people-oriented. Actor Rima Kallingal, the special guest, described Samridhi’s activities as an exemplary enterprise.
Samridhi’s new software and website were also launched during the event. Deputy Mayor V R Sudheer, standing committee chairpersons, Kudumbashree east CDS president Anitha Jyothi, Samridhi office-bearers and employees attended the programme. The next steps for the central kitchen will include establishing the facility at Manappatti Parambu and expanding the canteen network to additional nearby local bodies.
