A community kitchen in a Bengal village is providing food to tribals during lockdown

A part of the school for tribal kids has been converted into a kitchen. It provides food to around 250 villagers, mostly tribals & migrant workers who lost jobs during the lockdown.

Tribal women sit under Sal trees with their lunch boxes | Representational Image | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Huchukpur, Mohammad Bazar, West Bengal: A community kitchen in a tribal village in West Bengal has been providing food to tribals and migrant workers in the area. Before the pandemic-induced lockdowns, tribals in Huchukpur village would travel to nearby areas for work. But most of them do not have any job now.

A part of the school for the tribal kids has been converted into a kitchen, which runs through crowdfunding. It provides food to around 250 villagers. People start to queue up at noon. The menu on most of the days is rice, dal, mixed veg, and eggs.

At least three such kitchens are being run in the area, where villages are primarily engaged in mining and stone quarrying activities.

ThePrint’s Manisha Mondal brings you pictures from this tiny kitchen in the village, surrounded by Sal trees on both sides.

Women sit under the shade of the hut as they wait for food | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

The hut, once part of a school for tribal kids, is now being used as a community kitchen | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Before reaching the community centre, everyone makes sure they are wearing masks | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

The kitchen starts serving food around noon | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Women carrying food walk towards their homes | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

A woman with a bowl of rice and dal | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Women seen waiting outside the community kitchen | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

A woman carries bowl of food on her head | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

Villagers stand in a queue as they wait to collect food from the community kitchen | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint

A girl carrying a lunchbox runs across the field | Photo: Manisha Mondal | ThePrint