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Educator joins campaign, says cooking for COVID patients is like taking care of family

It was not an emotional moment for 29-year-old Bhavana Kamal Mehta when she signed up for Cook for Covid — a volunteer-run campaign in Chennai that ensures home-cooked food is prepared and delivered to COVID patients in the neighbourhood for free. It was only when she was scrolling through social media did she come to know about the campaign.

Educator joins campaign, says cooking for COVID patients is like taking care of family
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Bhavana Kamal Mehta; Food prepared by Bhavana

Chennai

An educator with a passion for cooking, Bhavana decided to sign up for it. But, after she started interacting with COVID patients and their families, did things take an emotional turn. “Initially, I had no intention of being a part of a campaign like this, but once I got involved, I ended up taking care of them like my family,” says Bhavana. She has been preparing meals for seven families since April. 

“As volunteers, we call the patients who have registered with us and ask them their food requirements — such as the kind of food they prefer and the portions. Sometimes, I send fruits and dry fruits with the meals. A couple of times, I have also sent chocolates because there were kids in the family,” says the resident of Perambur. 

Recalling the experience of the first family that she cooked for, Bhavana says, “When I first spoke to Vasanth, he sounded completely shattered. He lives with his parents and younger brother in Choolaimedu and all three of them were infected. And, he was having a hard time when it came to preparing meals especially as the neighbours were unwilling to help because they were afraid of contracting the virus.” 

Although Cook for COVID is a free campaign, Bhavana has also been offered payment for her services. “There have been a few occasions when delivery partners were not available and either my husband or I have had to deliver the food, and the patients have been most graciously offered to pay us a delivery fee. I could not accept it because, as I always tell them, the whole idea behind this initiative is to serve COVID patients, not make money out of it,” Bhavana says.

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