“My parents always told me that doing good eventually finds its way back to you. But in Hyderabad, a city famous for its food, seeing people starve outside hospitals felt like a personal insult. In 2015, I read about a food bank in Chennai and realized I couldn’t just sit around feeling bad anymore; I had to move. I started in my mother’s kitchen. That first day, she cooked 40 packets, and we took them straight to the streets. I didn’t have a big plan—just a Facebook page and the belief that if people saw the need, they’d step up.
For ten years now, my life has been split in two. Every morning starts at the government hospitals, serving 300 to 400 patients and their families who have nothing left after paying for medicines. Once the last meal is handed out, I head to my corporate job. It’s a quiet routine, but it’s necessary. I’ve stayed firm on one rule from the start: no cash. I don’t want your money; I want your involvement. If you want to help, buy the groceries or cook the food yourself. I want people to feel the weight of the bags they are donating. Even people living abroad have to send actual supplies through delivery apps because money can complicate a pure mission.
We’ve grown to over a hundred volunteers—students, professionals, and housewives. We show up at places like Niloufer, Gandhi and Osmania Hospitals because that’s where the struggle is most visible. You see cancer patients and migrant workers who haven’t had a hot meal in days. Giving them that food isn’t just about nutrition; it’s about making sure they don’t lose their dignity while they are suffering. After a decade of doing this, the goal hasn’t changed. I don’t care about being famous or running a huge NGO. I just want a hunger-free Hyderabad. As long as someone is sleeping on an empty stomach in my city, I’m going to keep showing up.”

• Mohammed Aziz aka @foodman_hyd