Every day, the Sadh Samaj Charitable Trust food van serves freshly cooked, home-style meals – ghar jaisa bhojan – to people waiting outside Delhi’s hospitals. Most are relatives of patients who have travelled from villages and small towns, and daily-wage workers who cannot afford a proper meal. A plate costs Rs 5, and the Rs 5 is waived for anyone who does not wish to pay – no one is turned away.
At a glance
- When: every day, hot lunch served around midday
- Main stop: outside IHBAS Hospital (Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences), Dilshad Garden, Delhi
- Price: Rs 5 a plate – free for anyone who does not wish to pay
- Running since: 24 September 2019
- Who it is for: everyone in the queue, without asking caste, religion or where they come from
Where the van goes
- IHBAS Hospital, Dilshad Garden – the van’s daily stop for most of the year
- AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital, Ansari Nagar
- Neighbourhood stops in Lajpat Nagar, Kirti Nagar, Vinobapuri and Noida
The day’s location is decided by need and by the sponsor’s wish. To find where the van is today, call +91 93157 30449.
What is served
A different menu each day, cooked fresh that morning and served hot: chhole-puri with halwa, rajma-chawal with roti, kadhi-chawal, masoor dal with rice and roti, dum aloo with puri – with seasonal sabzi such as gangaphal (pumpkin) or sukhe aloo, and boondi or halwa on special days.
Our story
The Ghar Ki Rasoi food van was launched on 24 September 2019 at Satnami Sadhna Kendra, Delhi, to serve wholesome food at a token Rs 5 a plate. Its first run went from Kanti Nagar to Gate 7 of GTB Hospital, and in its first weeks it fed 500–586 people a day. When Covid-19 left daily-wage earners without work, the trust made the meals completely free, doubled the van’s rounds to serve both lunch and dinner, and handed out 300–400 masks a day in the queues. At that time the van and the trust’s kitchens were feeding about 2,200 people a day. Today a plate again costs Rs 5 – and the charge is waived for anyone who does not wish to pay. In 2025 the van and the Farrukhabad kitchen together served about 800 meals a day.
What a day costs
A plate costs the trust about Rs 15–17 to cook. The diner pays Rs 5; a sponsor’s Rs 5,000 pays for the rest of a day’s meals – about 450 plates. When no one sponsors a day, the trust pays from its own funds: on 25 of the 70 days logged between July and October 2026, it did.
Ghar Ki Rasoi, Farrukhabad
In Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh – the founders’ hometown – the trust runs a Ghar Ki Rasoi kitchen at Sahebganj, Harchand Rai Road, Khatakpura Mod, Sadhwara. Its signboard says it simply: “sasta, swadisht, shuddh, paushtik bhojan – sirf Rs 5” – cheap, tasty, clean and nourishing food for ordinary people and those in need. Every day, a long queue of workers, passers-by and poor families forms outside for a thali of rice, dal, roti and sabzi, with puri on some days. The kitchen opened on 13 October 2018, when 2,000–2,500 people were fed free; by April 2020 it had served about 2 lakh meals, and on a normal day it cooks for 350–400 people. During the Covid lockdown it made 500–600 free lunch packets a day. A day of meals here is sponsored for about Rs 4,000–5,000.
Sponsor a day of meals (annadan) in Delhi or Farrukhabad
Each day of the van and the kitchen is sponsored by a family – on a birthday, a wedding anniversary, or in memory of a loved one. The sponsor’s name is announced to the members that day. Members of the trust sponsor many days themselves, and the trust funds the rest. You can sponsor a day too.
Sponsor a day of meals Call to book a date
घर की रसोई – भोजन वैन, दिल्ली और फ़र्रुख़ाबाद
साध समाज चैरिटेबल ट्रस्ट की फ़ूड वैन 24 सितंबर 2019 से हर दिन दिल्ली के अस्पतालों – मुख्य रूप से IHBAS अस्पताल (दिलशाद गार्डन), साथ ही AIIMS और सफ़दरजंग – के बाहर मरीज़ों के परिजनों और मज़दूरों को घर जैसा ताज़ा भोजन देती है। थाली ₹5 की है – जो भुगतान न करना चाहें, उनके लिए भोजन निःशुल्क है।
फ़र्रुख़ाबाद में ट्रस्ट की घर की रसोई (साहेबगंज, हरचंद राय रोड, खटकपुरा मोड़, साधवाड़ा) में हर दिन ₹5 में सस्ता, स्वादिष्ट, शुद्ध और पौष्टिक भोजन मिलता है।
अपने जन्मदिन, विवाह वर्षगाँठ या किसी प्रियजन की स्मृति में एक दिन का भोजन प्रायोजित करें – +91 93157 30449 पर संपर्क करें।
Free food in Delhi – common questions
Where can I get free food in Delhi?
The Sadh Samaj Charitable Trust food van, Ghar Ki Rasoi, serves hot, home-style meals every day outside government hospitals in Delhi. A plate costs Rs 5, and it is free for anyone who does not wish to pay. Call +91 93157 30449 to find today's stop.
What time is the food served?
A hot lunch is served around midday, every day.
Who can eat at the food van?
Anyone in the queue – mostly families of patients and daily-wage workers. No one is asked their caste, religion or where they come from.
What food is served?
A different freshly cooked menu each day, such as chhole-puri with halwa, rajma-chawal, kadhi-chawal or dal-rice with roti.
How can I sponsor a day of meals?
Rs 5,000 pays for a day of meals – about 450 plates – on a birthday, anniversary or in memory of a loved one. Donate on our Contribute page or call +91 93157 30449.