Our Milestones
How it started in 1993
Chennai Food Bank is a charitable program of RYA Madras Metro Trust, a registered Public Charitable Trust in India, headquartered in Chennai.
RYA Madras Metro Trust under it’s Chennai Food Bank program has the core objective of Working For a Hunger Free World since 1993.
A journey of Service Through Fellowship started by a group of young Rajasthani’s to serve the needy. In the year 1993, 13 charitable institutions were given a helping hand to provide one time meal to all the inmates and today Chennai Food Bank is supporting more than 100 orphanages, old age homes, homes for mentally challenged, and differently abled people feeding more than 15,000 inmates & distributing more than 10000 kgs of food grains every month.
Latur, Maharashtra earthquake relief 1993
A disastrous earthquake left many dead and homeless. Within six hours of the calamity, RYA Madras Metro Trust through it's flagship Chennai Food Bank program dispatched a truckload of food grains from Chennai for the needy.
Odisha cyclone relief 1999
During Orissa cyclone and later earthquake trucks loads of food grains were sent from RYA Madras Metro Trust - Chennai Food Bank in aid of the needy.
Gujarat earthquake relief 2001
10 tons of food grains was airlifted within hours of Gujarat earthquake and Chennai Food Bank’s aid was the first to reach the needy victims.
Decennial year mega event "Mujhe Apna Bana Lo" in 2003-2004
Decennial year of Chennai Food Bank was celebrated in a grand scale during the year. Mujhe Apna Bana Lo special mega event of visit to Kishkinta theme park along with 10,000 God’s own children. A mega event of this scale was successfully conducted for the first time bringing happiness in the lives of children from various needy institutions from across Chennai.
Mega event for the needy 2004-2005
A mega celebration for the inmates of various institutions supported by Chennai Food Bank was organised where many children joined the day long event and enjoyed the music & dance followed by delicious lunch. Kalaignar Shri. M. Karunanidhi & Shri. Dayanidhi Maran graced the special event and distributed food grains to the children.
Celebration of Rajah Annamalai Mandram Esplande 2005-2006
We celebrated Rajah Annamalai Mandram Esplanade in a grand manner. More than 1000 children from various beneficiaries were part of the celebration. Commissioner Of Police Mr. Natarajan graced the occasion as Chief Guest. Children were entertained with a Tamil comedy drama by Crazy Mohan which was followed by a special lunch. Chennai Food Bank committed 12,00,000 meals for the needy for the year 2005 – 2006.
Flagging off the 13 lakh meal donation drive for the year 2006-2007
A star studded event at Madras Seva Sadan - Chennai Food Bank committed 13 lakh meals during the year for the needy. New beneficiaries were added to the list of Chennai Food Bank and a mega event was organised to celebrate the same. The event was graced by celebrities Prakash Raj, Revathy Menon, S. J. Surya, Poornima Bakiyaraj. Children from various beneficiaries had the opportunity to interact with the stars. 25000 Kgs of food grains was donated collectively by members of RYA Metro during this event.
Celebration of 1 crore meals at Avvai Home & Orphanage with 800 children in 2007-2008
Celebration at Avvai Home & Orphange for girls in a grand manner along with 800 Children from various beneficiaries of Chennai Food Bank. The event was graced by Dr. Shantha, Cancer Institute Chennai, Smt. Kanmozhi, Actor Bharath and many more guests. It was a moment of celebration towards completion of One Crore Meals.
Apna Bana Lo trip to Kishkinta for 10k children during 2007-2008
10,000 Children from various beneficiaries were taken to Kishkinta Theme Park. This was a special event conducted for a second time a mega scale. Many celebrities and movie stars entertained the children through the day. This landmark event made the year very special for Chennai Food Bank.
40k meals distributed between Diwali & Pongal during 2008-2009
Celebration with mentally challenged people at Kilpauk Mental Hospital. Lunch was served to more than 2000 inmates of the hospital. Actor Arya & Shri. Arcot Veeraswami joined the celebrations as special guests.
Reaching Beyond Reach – For the first time Chennai Food Bank reached the needy beyond Chennai – Thiruvallur, Vandavasi, Kanchipuram. 40,000 Kgs of food grains were distributed from Diwali to Pongal as a special project under the Annalakshmi Project along with Lions Club of Chennai.
Mega Project Day Celebration with 6 tonnes of grains committed for Animal Welfare Program in 2009-2010
Project Day celebrated along with 750 children in Ramakrishna Mission Students Home – a 100 year old Orphanage in Chennai. Chennai Food Bank reached out to help animals for the first time with the Animal Welfare Program. Six tons of food grains donation was committed towards Animal Welfare on the Project day which was grace by actor Dhanush, Shri. Karunakaran I.P.S & Daulat Jain, Chairman Animal Welfare Board.
Focus on nutrition & health in 2010-2011
Celebrations at Madras Pinjrapole along with 500 Children from various beneficiaries. Feed was provided to all the cows in the goshala. Nutrimix – Special nutritious health drink for children was introduced for the beneficiaries and importance of nutrition for children was emphasised.
Carnival for 500 children at DG Vaishnav College in 2011-2012
Celebrations at D. G. Vaishnava college, Arumbakkam along with 500 Children from various beneficiaries. It was celebrated in a unique way like a carnival combined with games followed by delicious lunch. Children were given an opportunity to participate in various games. The event was graced by actor Bharath.
Apna Bana Lo divine trip to Tirupati with 1008 children in a special chartered train in 2012-2013
Celebrations in a unique way outside Chennai for the first time. Apna Bana Lo – A divine trip to Titupati along with 1008 God’s own children, in a special chartered train was organised. Train journey was a first experience for many children. Darshan of Lord Balaji & the lunch at Tirumala made the Project Day very special.
Mega movie screening for over 2k children on one day on 2013-2014
Celebrations at Pilot Theatre along with 2000 God’s own children. Continuous screening of Tamil movie “ Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya” was the highlight if the Project Day. Watching a movie in a theatre was a new experience for many children. Children enjoyed the movie and the delicious lunch was served after the movie. Actor Arun Vijay joined for the event & distributed sweets.
Mega musical entertainment for children in 2014-2015
Celebrations at Avvai Home, Chennai along with 800 God’s own children from various beneficiaries supported by Chennai Food Bank. Kollywood celebrity Mr. Madan Bob entertained the children with music, dance and pyramid formations. Mr. Thandavan, Vice Chancellor of Madras University presided over the function. All the children enjoyed the music programme and danced to the tunes of the Kollywood music. Delicious lunch was served for all.
Live musical program for 1k children in 2015-2016
Celebrations at Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram along with 1,000 God’s own children from various institutions supported by Chennai Food Bank. Children were entertained with live music program as children danced to the tunes of popular tamil movie songs. Music Director Srikhanth Deva graced the occasion & sang for the children. Children enjoyed the day with music, dance, gifts and some yummy lunch.
Apna Bana Lo "Child in the wild" visit to Valdalur zoo with 5k children in 2016-2017
A mega event - Apna Bana Lo with the tag line “Child In The Wild”. A visit to Vandalur Zoo along with 5,000 God’s own children from various institutions supported by Chennai Food Bank. Children were escorted to the venue is special buses arranged by Chennai Food Bank. Visiting a zoo was a first time experience for many children. After a visual treat around Vandalur Zoo, the 5,000 children were served delicious lunch at the SRM University dining hall. Special light music programme was organised at the SRM University auditorium where children were dancing with joy in the auditorium.
Vardah cyclone relief in 2016-2017
Standing up during a calamity - Vardah Cyclone 2016 – Food packets / Bread / Fruits were distributed to needy in various cyclone affected area in Chennai. During the rains in Chennai 2017 – 20,000 food packets were distributed in time of need to needy people.
Metro train ride for 1.5k children in 2017-2018
A mega event - Apna Bana Lo kids carnival & metro train jouney from Kilpauk to Airport with the tag line of “Chinna Chinna Aasaigal” was celebrated in a grand manner along with 1500 God’s own children. Metro train tide inside the city was a new experience for many children and they also enjoyed the magic show, 3D Shown, tattoo, nail art & boating in Chetpet lake.
Apna Bano Lo "Udaan" flight journey for 100 children from Chennai to Bengaluru in 2017-2018
UDAAN – Apna Bana Lo – A dream come true special flight journey to Bangalore for 100 God’s own children combined with delicious food & joyful rides at Fun World followed by a happy time at snow world.= for the needy children.
Mega cultural competition for children in 2018-2019
A mega cultural competition was celebrated at A.M. Jain College, Chennai with 1,000 children from our supported institutions. Shri. Arvind Gupta, Shri. Daulat Jain, Shri. Chandraprakash Taleda along with Film Star Sandhanam graced the occasion and lunch was served to all the children.
Truck load of rice was sent to the severe flood affected families of Kerala.
Mega fund raiser event Big Impact Small Acts with 11,11,111 meals committed in 2018-2019
A mega fund raiser event Big Impact of Small Acts was held at Madras University Auditorium. Shri Mahatria Ra gave his life transforming discourse on the above to 3000 plus attendees. He also launched our Silver Jubilee souvenir & 1500+ copies were sent to various dignitaries and donors. Chennai Food Bank committed to distribute 11,11,111 meals during the year.
What We Do

We Raise Funds
We raise funds from Individuals, Corporates for various schemes with the core objective of providing food grains to the needy institutions

We Source Grains
We source grains from individual donors and through funds raised through various events and schemes from individuals and corporate donors who support us for year long supply of food grains for the needy

We Donate
We identify local institutions which are homes to the lesser privileged and provide them with year long access to food grains for the inmates. Our stringent quality check ensured we support the real needy and deserving institutions

We Support
We support various NGO's, Government organisations, Charities to reach out to more needy people during Natural Calamities by providing regular food supplies across the country

Healthy Food
We help local nonprofit institutions with free access to year long supply of quality food grains for the needy inmates.

Children Welfare
Providing the needy children, an experience of a lifetime, with the annual all day entertainment & welfare programs.

Disaster Relief
Supporting various NGO's, Institutions & Government Agencies with food provisions during Natural Calamities & Disaster.
Achievements
Years of
Trust
monthly
donors
incredible
members
successful
campains
Let Us Work For A Hunger Free World
Annadata
Adopt a small institution for a year at ₹55,555 and a big institution for ₹1,11,111 for the year by sponsoring food grains
Akshaypatra
Donations for sourcing food grains for the needy for a dedicated date every year
₹55,555 Silver, ₹1,25,111 Gold, ₹2,51,111 Diamond & ₹5,11,111 Platinum
Institutions We Support




























Testimonials
Ashok Kumar Bhandari
DonorIt is a very good institution doing great work to feed the hungry.
Nirmal Nahar
DonorA project which caters to the VERY NEED of existence - FOOD ! Selflessly serving the society for over 3 decades and always innovatively striving to be at the forefront of its motto of Working For A Hunger Free World.
Arun Mimani
TrusteeChennai Food Bank is doing Yeoman service for a hunger free world. In times of natural calamities they are the first to reach out to the needy. Kudos to the great work being done by them.
Sandeep Mehta
TrusteeChennai Food Bank is tirelessly "working for a hunger free world" for the last 29 years. It is the first & the only food bank in the country with ISO certification for the process, checks & quality.
Kishan Jain
TrusteeChennai Food Bank is one of the finest programs I have been a part of in my lifetime. There is no better deed than serving meals to the needy. Serving 2 meals a day to the lesser privileged and serving over 40 million meals since 1993, we have come a long way.