KARACHI: The little trolley with the tag “Zaroorat mando kay liye” (translation: for people in need) has been religiously refilled - sometimes more than once in a day - for the last ten years. It stands proudly in a corner at the New Town Bakers in Karachi’s Gurumandic area serving those who cannot afford.

The bakery is part of the familt business, set up just five years after independence. The owner-chef of the bakery says the tradition of setting a cart aside for the destitute was started by his father and expects it will continue with future generations.

The idea behind the trolley is to avoid the daily leftovers from going to waste in a country that has grappled with food insecurity for decades. According to the World Food Programme, 43 per cent - or every third Pakistani - is food insecure.

“Just like we eat leftovers from dinner the next day at home, we follow the same principle here,” he added. But these items are provided gratis to those in need.

The cart was filled with different bakery items ranging from Rs10 to 100, some half-and-full bread loaves, rusk, packets of biscuits, and tea cakes.

The decade-old cart is known to customers, particularly regulars at the bakery. The cashier told Aaj Digital that the biscuits in the cart were paid for by a customer who came earlier in the day.

The only rule is that you can’t place food prepared or bought from elsewhere to the cart because then they wouldn’t be able to take responsibility for the food’s quality.

Domestic workers, security guards, and the homeless are among those to benefit from the cart. The manager said that most of those come in evening when there are few customers in the bakery.

This is one of the reasons, he said, the cart wasn’t placed outside in the public eye. “We do not want people to feel ashamed while taking food items or give the perception that this is a publicity stunt.”

It also keeps the cart from being raided or someone taking all the food in one go.