Reportedly at 1 pm on a hot thursday afternoon, Amma Unavagams, also known as Amma Canteens, across chennai began serving food free of cost. Anticipating crowds, one worker said, “We are also making additional quantities of food for lunch.” Most of the employees working across the 407 Amma Unavagams in tamilnadu are women from self-help groups (SHGs). The women begin work day at 5 am with their responsibilities including cooking and cleaning. They finish these tasks by 6.30 am and open the counters at 7 am to serve piping hot food which is mostly idli and pongal. They also make lunch which includes sambar rice, curd rice and lemon rice.
For dinner, the canteens serve chapati or pongal. The announcement from the Corporation has come as a relief for many people, including migrant workers and daily wage labourers, who have lost their jobs during this lockdown. The women of Amma Unavagam work hard to maintain hygiene and ensure patrons adhere to social distancing norms. The canteens allow only two people to share a table; people in the queue are made to stand a few feet apart.
“We are always wearing our masks and gloves,” said one worker with her mask on at the canteen in Anna Salai. Although Amma Unavagams do not encourage parcels and takeaways, workers are relaxing norms to reduce crowding. people bring their own utensils to take food from the canteens.Staff at the Amma Unavagams near containment zones said that not many people were visiting the outlets during the lockdown due to the restrictions. With daily wage workers forced to stay indoors, the number of people visiting the canteens has reduced, said staff. Adding to this, the Amma Unavagam workers highlighted that during the lockdown, people were unable to pay the minimal amounts charged by the canteen.
