
Shanthi has run our Hebbal kitchen since it opened in 2019. Every one of the 22 cooks lives within two kilometres; most were mothers of children who ate the lunches before they cooked them.
The menu changes every day of the week and was written with a paediatric dietitian. What doesn't change is the rule Shanthi set on day one: if she wouldn't feed it to her own grandchildren, it doesn't go in the van.
“Children can tell when food is cooked with care. So can their mothers.”— Shanthi Gowda
Keep reading
More stories

Meena, 14 · Kattigenahalli
Meena's first report card
Two years ago Meena was about to leave school to look after her brothers. This term she came first in maths.
18 Sept 2026 · 4 min read
Class 7, GHPS Yelahanka · Yelahanka New Town
A forest on a school ground
Three years after 300 volunteers planted it, the Yelahanka school forest is taller than the classroom roof.
14 Jul 2026 · 3 min read
Rukmini · Doddaballapur
Rukmini and her forty tailors
Rukmini borrowed a sewing machine in 2021. Today her self-help group stitches 4,000 school uniforms a year.
2 Jun 2026 · 4 min read