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A 76-year-old grandma has delivered thousands of free vegan meals to hospital workers and the elderly during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Akila Chokkalingam started making gourmet curries from her own kitchen after noticing dishes from the supermarket and local takeaways lacked nutrition.
Vegan curries
She then launched her own brand Chef Akila with the help of nutritionists, health experts and doctors, including her son NHS consultant Dr Senthil Kumar.
Chef Akila currently offers nine plant-based dishes such as Tikka Masala and Spinach dal Kootu. Moreover, the brand has seen a staggering 680 percent increase in sales since the COVID-19 lockdown started.
Free vegan meals
As the pandemic unfolded, Akila started delivering curries to hospitals and offered discount codes for subsidized prices to keyworkers.
Curries were also dropped off to elderly and vulnerable people in the local area.
Moreover, the company has donated more than 50,000 meals to children in India over the last year as part of its ‘buy one – feed one’ initiative.
‘Incredibly grateful’
In a statement sent to PBN, Akila said: “We’re incredibly grateful to have experienced such a growth in 2020. And, [we’re] even happier that we were able to give something back during the pandemic.”
Ericka Durgahee is the Business Development Marketing Manager at The Vegan Society. She added: “It’s fantastic to see a company that is registered with the Vegan Trademark going above and beyond for those in need during what has been an incredibly difficult year.
“We’re delighted to hear that frontline workers and elderly and vulnerable people have been able to enjoy top quality and tasty vegan meals.”
You can learn more about Chef Akila here
