During the lockdown, almost every third picture on our social media feeds has been that of a plate — packed with all kinds of fare, from a lavish English brekkie to a quick midnight Maggi snack. While a lot of people have sought comfort in food, so many more continue to find it difficult to manage a plateful as the invisible virus has also dealt a blow to our economy. "Hunger kills more people than AIDS, malaria and terrorism combined every year, but in India, we have become immune to it. And as the country shuttered, over 140 million people lost jobs, worsening the situation," says Chitresh Sinha, CEO, Chlorophyll Innovation Lab, and the founder of The Plated Project, a social impact initiative aimed at eliminating hunger through art.

They have been tying up with artists and NGOs every month since the launch of the project in 2019 to create one-of-a-kind decor plates that are sold online and through pop-ups to feed the needy. And in June, the project launched a new collection, A Plate Full Of Hope, for those "who keep our lives running daily". The team roped in 20 artists from across the world who designed limited-edition art plates pro bono. "Each plate now sponsors 60 meals for a person's family. Initially, with the help of some sponsors, we were donating 100 per cent of the proceeds to Goonj's Rahat initiative. We ended up sponsoring 1,50,000 meals in a little over a month," shares Sinha, adding that now, they are directing all the profits towards the charity, after deducting production costs.