“Don’t wait for someone else to help. Be someone.”
For Malleshwar Rao Nemani, who has known hunger himself, that belief became the foundation of the "Don’t Waste Food Organisation".
Malleshwar’s family is originally from Rajahmundry. They moved to Nagpur to repay debts through agriculture, but floods destroyed their farmland. His father sold everything, including their house, and the family moved to Nizamabad, where his parents worked as daily wagers. As a child, Malleshwar worked on construction sites and cleaned lorries to add to the family’s income.
Then life changed. He was admitted to Samskar Ashram Vidyalayam, run by social reformers Hemalatha Lavanam garu and her husband, Lavanam. He later moved to Hyderabad for his B.Tech, taking up part-time catering jobs to pay his fees and send money home. There were nights he slept at the bus stand near Secunderabad Railway Station because he had nowhere else to go.
While working at catering events, he was troubled by seeing perfectly good food go to waste while people nearby went hungry. Having experienced poverty himself, he began distributing surplus food near railway stations with a few friends. The sight of a hungry man opening three packets and eating immediately stayed with him.
That moment inspired him to establish the "Don’t Waste Food Organisation" with the support of volunteers. People reach out to them via WhatsApp groups, direct calls and also on Facebook page/website at www.dontwastefood.in.
The road has not been easy. Running an NGO demands time beyond his official work hours, and the physical demands have sometimes affected his health.
What began with leftovers from catering events now serves thousands of people. During COVID-19, the team expanded food drives across several cities and helped arrange oxygen cylinders.
Today, they also run educational programmes, health awareness campaigns, and blood donation drives, and Malleshwar is involved in CSR initiatives with CSR South. He credits his volunteers for making all of it possible. Everyday over 5000 meals are distributed across several states through a volunteer network.
Sometimes he thinks about how far life has taken him, from searching for a place to sleep near bus stands to building something that reaches thousands.
The work has been mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on ‘Mann Ki Baat’ and appreciated by Anand Mahindra. But the recognition that matters most to him is the happiness on someone’s face when they receive a meal after going hungry.
He hopes to expand food rescue nationwide, strengthen CSR and government partnerships, and make surplus food redistribution a regular practice in hotels and banquet halls.
His message: Take only what you need, avoid food waste, and take the first step toward change instead of waiting for someone else.
Malleshwar’s family is originally from Rajahmundry. They moved to Nagpur to repay debts through agriculture, but floods destroyed their farmland. His father sold everything, including their house, and the family moved to Nizamabad, where his parents worked as daily wagers. As a child, Malleshwar worked on construction sites and cleaned lorries to add to the family’s income.
Then life changed. He was admitted to Samskar Ashram Vidyalayam, run by social reformers Hemalatha Lavanam garu and her husband, Lavanam. He later moved to Hyderabad for his B.Tech, taking up part-time catering jobs to pay his fees and send money home. There were nights he slept at the bus stand near Secunderabad Railway Station because he had nowhere else to go.
While working at catering events, he was troubled by seeing perfectly good food go to waste while people nearby went hungry. Having experienced poverty himself, he began distributing surplus food near railway stations with a few friends. The sight of a hungry man opening three packets and eating immediately stayed with him.
That moment inspired him to establish the "Don’t Waste Food Organisation" with the support of volunteers. People reach out to them via WhatsApp groups, direct calls and also on Facebook page/website at www.dontwastefood.in.
The road has not been easy. Running an NGO demands time beyond his official work hours, and the physical demands have sometimes affected his health.
What began with leftovers from catering events now serves thousands of people. During COVID-19, the team expanded food drives across several cities and helped arrange oxygen cylinders.
Today, they also run educational programmes, health awareness campaigns, and blood donation drives, and Malleshwar is involved in CSR initiatives with CSR South. He credits his volunteers for making all of it possible. Everyday over 5000 meals are distributed across several states through a volunteer network.
Sometimes he thinks about how far life has taken him, from searching for a place to sleep near bus stands to building something that reaches thousands.
The work has been mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on ‘Mann Ki Baat’ and appreciated by Anand Mahindra. But the recognition that matters most to him is the happiness on someone’s face when they receive a meal after going hungry.
He hopes to expand food rescue nationwide, strengthen CSR and government partnerships, and make surplus food redistribution a regular practice in hotels and banquet halls.
His message: Take only what you need, avoid food waste, and take the first step toward change instead of waiting for someone else.
This story was told by Malleshwar Rao Nemani and published with their permission by the What's Your Story editorial team.
