Coronavirus: Ninjacart Helps the Needy With Subsidized Fresh Produce

In order to service the slum areas and orphanages, the company said it is willing to partner with non-governmental organizations and similar institutions.

Ninjacart, a Bengaluru-based fresh produce supply chain start-up, has provisioned essential fruits and vegetables to orphanages, old-age homes and slum areas, at subsidized rates, in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak-enforced lockdown in India.

In order to service the slum areas and orphanages, the company said it is willing to partner with non-governmental organizations and similar institutions across Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Pune and Ahmedabad.

“Ninjacart has always strived towards changing the way fruits and vegetables reach our plates, along with enhancing the income of farmers, convenience of retailers and ensuring safe food for all. During this time of crisis, it is all the more important that Ninjacart operates to ensure the essential commodities reach every citizen,” said co-founder Thirukumaran Nagarajan, in a statement.

Reaching the People

The coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent lockdown has also resulted in massive supply side shortages for essentials and to tackle that, the company last week started supplying fresh fruits and vegetables to several residential communities and apartments.

Currently, the apartment solution has been made available in all seven cities that it serves and is serving more than 120 apartments on a daily basis. The organisation is facing a deluge of demand and has pipelined over 4000 residential spaces, which it said it aims to serve in a week’s time.

“These are the challenging times for the less privileged communities as the retail prices of food items have hiked by 80 per cent and accessibility is a big challenge. We want to leverage Ninjacart’s capability to solve these problems and make it convenient for these communities,” Nagarajan said.

On average, Ninjacart sources 1,400 tonnes of fresh vegetables and fruits from more than 20,000 farmers and delivers them to over 60,000 retailers across the country.

As the ongoing 3-week-long lockdown has brought about disruptions across sectors, multiple start-ups have stepped up with different initiatives to help support the government and the people during the pandemic, from setting up funds to offering free services.