Page 67 - CIJ April 2025- Digital Edition

DIFFERENT STROKES

The initiative is not just
about bags of vegetables, it
is about reshaping attitudes.
Pick’n’Treat’s campaigns
tackle cosmetic standards in
produce (“Good food does not
have to be good-looking”),
clarify confusion around
“best before” dates, and
promote healthier, cheaper
alternatives to food delivery by
encouraging dine-in or walk- Pick’n’Treat also makes local businesses, creating
to-store models. They advocate a compelling case for the student-led sustainability
for a circular economy where link between food habits and clubs, and building a model
waste becomes opportunity — public health. With obesity, that communities can replicate
and where youth are the drivers heart disease, and diabetes anywhere.
of that change. affecting younger populations Pick’n’Treat is not just an
Behind every Magic Bag is at alarming rates, some as initiative, it is a statement. That
young as 24, emphasizes that
an understanding of something eating right is not a luxury, students can lead with purpose.
bigger: the climate crisis. Food but a necessity. And in a world Those simple ideas, when
that rots in landfills releases of expensive delivery apps executed well, can disrupt
methane — a greenhouse gas pushing fast food, Magic Bags entrenched problems.
far more potent than CO₂. offer a refreshing, affordable And that a Magic Bag can
Pick’n’Treat’s work not only counterpoint rooted in local, carry more than food — it
feeds people but actively seasonal, and nutritious can carry hope, equity, and
reduces carbon emissions. They environmental change.
estimate that their first round of produce.
rescued food avoided around The team is clear: food Their story is still unfolding.
150kg of CO₂ emissions. redistribution must be part of But for now, in a small corner
For every kilogram of wheat the solution to India’s growing of Delhi, some of India’s
saved, 1,500 liters of water is sustainability crisis. “We are youngest changemakers are
conserved. These are not just not here to give charity. We are doing what the world’s biggest
numbers — they are tangible here to realign systems,” they systems have failed to do: feed
contributions to the planet. say. That includes empowering people, not landfills.

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www.cleanindiajournal.com•Clean India Journal•APRIL 2025