Kudumbashree is the official food partner at the India Vs West Indies cricket match to be held in Thiruvananthapuram on November 1.

Eleven café units across Thiruvananthapuram will cater at the Greenfield Stadium where the One Day International – the fifth in the series – will be held.

“Work has started. There will be eight kiosks, 11 units and 110 Kudumbashree members at the stadium. They will serve food from 9 in the morning to 9 in the evening,” informs a source at the public relations of Kudumbashree.

There could be other stalls outside the stadium, but the spectators are not permitted to bring food back into the stadium from the stalls.

Kudumbashree was also the official food partner for the India Vs New Zealand cricket match held at the Greenfield Stadium last year. “That was a T20 match, so it was a much shorter one. The sales back then came to about Rs 3 lakh. Since this is an ODI and a longer format, we expect much larger sales,” the source says.

There will be everything from tea, coffee, and snacks to heavier meals like biriyani, beef and pathiri, fried rice and chicken. “We were given a wedding hall in Nalanchira to prepare the food,” says Girija of Sruthy Catering, who has been a member of Kudumbashree for 18 years now.

“I became part of a Kudumbashree ayalkootam 18 years ago, and I began catering in 2003,” Girija says. “It has really lifted some of our lives. I belonged to Below Poverty Line before joining Kudumbashree, now I belong to APL,” Girija adds. Her catering service will include everything from tea and snacks like unniyappam and bajji, to sandwich, fried rice and chicken.

“We all know each other, we are all from Thiruvananthapuram. We have also been part of the cricket match last year (India Vs NZ) and the national games too,” Girija adds. 

Kudumbashree is a women's empowerment programme implemented by the Kerala government's Poverty Eradication Mission.