Every night in Hyderabad, while most of the city sleeps after grand weddings and celebrations, a group of young volunteers rides through the streets carrying packets of food on their bikes — searching for people who might otherwise sleep hungry.

For Malleshwar Rao Nemani, this mission is born from his own struggles

“When I was five years old, survival became my daily routine. After the devastating 1998 floods destroyed our family’s small farm near Nagpur, we migrated to Nizamabad with nothing but uncertainty. Childhood, for me, did not mean school bells or playgrounds. It meant wiping grease off lorries, carrying bricks at construction sites, and washing dishes at roadside hotels just to support my family.

My life changed when a social volunteer noticed me at a construction site and brought me to Samskar Ashram. Under the guidance of renowned social reformers Hemalata Lavanam Garu and Lavanam Garu, I was given something I had never experienced before — the chance to study. Growing up there taught me that social service is not charity; it is responsibility.
Years later, I moved to Hyderabad to pursue B.Tech. During the day, I attended engineering classes. At night, I worked at catering events to pay my fees and send money home.

Then came the moment that changed everything.
In 2012, after a lavish wedding event, I watched huge quantities of untouched food being thrown into garbage bins. Instantly, memories of sleeping hungry on railway platforms came rushing back. I realised hunger was not just my past — it was still someone else’s present.
That same night, along with a few friends, I packed leftover food into gunny bags and stepped onto the streets to find people who needed a meal. That small act became ‘Don’t Waste Food.’

What began with a handful of students has now grown into a volunteer-driven movement operating across multiple cities. In the last three years alone, we have served over 32 lakh meals, with volunteers rescuing surplus food daily from weddings, hotels, and corporate events. During festivals and peak wedding seasons, our teams distribute more than 5,000 meals a day.
Over time, the mission expanded beyond food. Today, our volunteers also conduct blood donation drives, slum education programs, blanket distribution initiatives, and emergency relief work.

From being a child labourer to having our work appreciated by Anand Mahindra Ji and mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji in Mann Ki Baat, the journey has been long.

But for me, the real reward is simple.
Knowing that somewhere tonight, a hungry child will sleep with a full stomach because somebody chose not to look away.”

— Malleshwar Rao Nemani, Founder, Don’t Waste Food