Introduction

In a time of disaster, people look for doctors, medicines, and shelters.

But before all that — they need food.

And sometimes, the most powerful response to a crisis is made with flour, rolling pins, and willing hands.

During Kerala’s floods and COVID-19 lockdown, Care Home’s kitchen transformed into an unsung command centre — quietly producing and delivering over 12,000 chappatis every day to relief camps across Kozhikode.

This is the story of a kitchen that cooked not just food, but hope.

🌧️ Floods. Pandemic. Hunger.

When the floods hit Kerala, and later when COVID-19 swept across the state, thousands were moved into makeshift shelters — schools, halls, tents. Many of them had lost everything. Few had access to warm, hygienic meals.

Care Home, already known for its hygiene, stepped up in a big way:

• 🫓 12,000 chappatis per day, freshly made

• 🧂 Served with curries and packed in clean containers

• 🚐 Distributed to multiple relief camps in coordination with the district administration

📸 Image Placeholder: Volunteers rolling chappatis, packed food crates, or delivery vehicles

🧑‍🍳 The Kitchen That Didn’t Sleep

To meet the demand, the Care Home kitchen began working around the clock.

• Night shifts to knead and roll

• Day shifts to cook and pack

• Volunteers from all walks — homemakers, students, retired teachers — came in with gloves, masks, and hearts open

We even ran trial shifts to test how to stretch dough yields, rotate teams, and sanitize every surface, three times a day.

“It felt like a war room — but filled with warmth and the smell of roasted wheat.” — Faheema, Kitchen Volunteer

💡 Why Chappati?

• Easy to cook in bulk

• Long shelf life

• Goes well with simple dal or sabzi

• Most importantly: comfort food for Malayali homes

In the middle of fear and uncertainty, one soft chappati reminded people that someone cared.

🙌 What It Took Per Day

• 🌾 500+ kg of flour

• 🔥 6 rolling stations

• 👥 40–50 volunteers on rotation

• 🛻 Delivery logistics to 10+ camp sites

📸 Image Placeholder: Stacked trays of chappatis, women rolling dough together, or food being loaded into a van

💖 Beyond Relief: A Model of Scalable Compassion

Care Home wasn’t just reacting — it was responding with structure, hygiene, and heart.

That kitchen is now seen as a model relief kitchen — one that can scale up within hours, and mobilize community, not just machines.

Even government officers and NGOs commended the quality, quantity, and dignity of the meals.

Closing Note

In times of disaster, not everyone can rescue — but anyone can roll a chappati.

Care Home showed that a clean kitchen, run with love, can feed not just bodies — but the morale of an entire city under distress.

They say charity begins at home. We say — it begins at the Care Home kitchen.