Valvan Mahotsav 2026: BMC to organise summer food festival on May 11 and 12 to support women’s self-help groups

Apart from food items, various homemade masalas will also be featured during the two-day festival. Representational Pic/File

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday announced that it will organise a special food festival titled ‘Valvan Mahotsav 2026 - Sugandh Unhalyacha' on May 11 and 12, 2026 to promote women's empowerment and support local homemade food products, an official statement said.

The festival will be held from 10 am to 6 pm at all municipal ward offices across Mumbai.

The initiative has been organised by the BMC Planning Department under the concept developed by Chairperson of the Women and Child Welfare Committee. Meenal Turde.

The special food festival will feature products prepared by women's self-help groups under the Women and Child Welfare Scheme and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihood Mission.

"The event will feature the sale and exhibition of various preserved food products made by women's self-help groups under the Women and Child Welfare Scheme and the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihood Mission," the official statement stated.

The festival is also intended to encourage women entrepreneurship, it said.

On the menu

The initiative aims to bring the authentic taste of homemade food prepared by women's self-help groups directly to the homes of Mumbai residents, officials said.

Visitors will get an opportunity to buy and taste a wide variety of traditional preserved and homemade food items, including papad, kurdai, pickles, vermicelli, methkut, tilkut, sandge, dry fish, and homemade spice mixes, the statement said.

Special tasting counters will also be available during the event.

Focus on Mumbai's summer food culture

The statement said that the food festival aims to introduce Mumbai residents to traditional summer food culture while helping women entrepreneurs expand their reach.

Products made from wheat, rice, ragi and potatoes, along with mango pickles, lemon pickles, sandgi chillies and various homemade masalas, will be among the key attractions.

Officials said the initiative is intended to bring the taste of homemade food prepared by women's self-help groups directly to households across Mumbai.

Appeal to citizens

Meenal Turde and Director of Planning, Prachi Jambhekar, appealed to citizens to visit the festival and support local women entrepreneurs.

They said the event would help encourage small-scale businesses while preserving Maharashtra's traditional food heritage.