Doing Good Through Food, Together

The Local Food Club (LFC) is a nation-wide, community-led initiative facilitated by The Locavore. Our attempt is to create meaningful change in our local food systems by nurturing connections, sharing learnings, and enabling collective action. 

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Across cities, towns, neighbourhoods—and online, the Local Food Club runs on quarterly themes, with regular gatherings, curated events, conversations, and community learning spaces. What ties all this together is action—individual and collective—that’s realistic, participatory, and designed to create lasting impact.

HOW IT WORKS

This Quarter's Theme:
Know Your Desi Ingredients

July-September 2026

Ingredients are often the carriers of diverse community knowledge, memories, and stories of labour and skill. Join the conversation and explore the life behind ingredients in neighbourhoods, our market baskets, on our kitchen shelves, and beyond.

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Members across India

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Active clubs

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Meetups since April ’25

27 September

Next meetup

The Local Food Club Manifesto

A shared commitment to participate in our local food systems with care, curiosity, and intention. We believe food goes far beyond the mere act of eating. It reflects the land and labour behind it, and shapes culture, livelihoods, and the choices we make every day. 

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Stories from the Community

Letters from the Room | Explore All

Benami kheer served at LFC Thiruvananthapuram, on the theme of ‘pantry staples’ but with a twist. All photos by Chef Ashok Eapen.

The Kheer with No Name

Chef Ashok Eapen unearths the history and science behind the Lucknowi Benami kheer—a sweet Awadhi pudding made with a secret, “benami” or nameless ingredient—served at Thiruvananthapuram’s Local Food Club.

The final step of hand-rolling the ​Mayurbhanj laddoo, at one of the sweet shops belonging to the Sahu family. All photos by Akash.

The Laddoo Lore

Akash traces the history of the Mayurbhanj laddoo through royal kitchens while also sharing his fondness for the laddoo that he grew up eating with his grandfather.

In the Habit of Sweetness

A delicate mortar-pestle meant only for saffron becomes an inheritance of taste, ritual, and a grandmother’s insistence on everyday sweetness for a member of LFC Mumbai.

Oh! The Things We’ve Seen | Explore All

Sam’s lunch plate of kankada kassa; the kankada is sourced from Gopalpur. Photo by Sam K.

A Guide to Mansa and Machha in Odisha

Following the monthly theme, “Fish, Meat and More”, members of LFC Bhubaneswar recommend their go-to fish (machha) and meat (mansa) dishes unique to their region.

The spread at Sneha’s friend’s house in Kerala—chicken mandi, honey chicken, pepper prawn, toum, mint and chilli chutney. Photo by Sneha.

What’s on your plate today?

In light of this month’s theme, “Fish, Meat and More”, LFC members across the country share their favourite meat dishes—a plate they recently savoured, flavours from their childhood, and go-to local eateries.

Rice paired with ghee, podis (karipata, metkut, moringa, and dal), shrimp chili oil salad, and Parsi jeera batasa. This plate of food was shared at the Local Food Club meetup in Mumbai in August. Photo by Mitali Bhasin.

When Achar Met Rice

What is that one rice accompaniment you swear by? LFC Mumbai’s members share their favourite chutney, pickle, and podi pairings with rice.

Rakthashali rice. Photo via Bio Basics.

A Slice of Rice/Life

Members reflect on how the type and number of rice varieties they cook with has evolved over time. They reminiscence over the unfamiliar turned familiar, from their childhood to adult kitchens

Recipes from the Community

If you have a recipe that preserves culinary heritage and stories, or showcases local and seasonal ingredients in a new light, we would love to feature it on our website! Reach out to us.

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Ponkh Appe

This seasonal ponkh appe is inspired by Kathiawadi winter traditions.

Baripada Mutton Kasa

For sisters Jinnie and Rini Saren, this slow-cooked mutton curry from Baripada in Odisha brings back memories of Holi with their late mother.

Halwa-Nagori

Kcamya Aggarwal shares a recipe for halwa-nagori—an Old Delhi breakfast classic.

"I'm eager to meet people who care deeply about food and food systems, build meaningful relationships, and collaborate on projects, big and small, that help document and conserve our local food ecosystems. I'm still new to Goa and would love to get to know it better through local food and alongside fellow Local Food Club members."
Nabilah NooraniLFC Goa
"I see LFC as a space for friendship and conversations around food where there's no gatekeeping, no one to impress, and no burdens of food needing to be perfect. This will be a space where people can come as they are and leave with a lighter heart and fuller bellies."
Harshita LalwaniLFC Pune
"With the rising conscientiousness around food and its source, if the Local Food Clubs can continue to be a space that adds to collective knowledge of regional and seasonal produce, it will flourish and how!"
Oindrilla ChakrabortyLFC Bengaluru
“I see Local Food Clubs growing through shared experiences—bonding over dishes and stories, food walks, cookbook swaps, and movie nights. It’s about building community, one delicious memory at a time.”
Zeeba KaziLFC Mumbai
There's so much we have as a city (Chennai) to share and learn from each other. I see the LFC as a space of belonging, to do better with the convictions we hold around sustainability and community. It is a counter-narrative seed which brings agency back to us to make informed, community-led choices in the face(lessness) of fascist, capitalist systems.
Pritika M.LFC Chennai
I see LFC as a space for friendship and conversations around food where there's no gatekeeping, no one to impress, and no burdens of food needing to be perfect. This will be a space where people can come as they are and leave with a lighter heart and fuller bellies.
Ashish SharmaLFC Kolkata
"I would love for my Local Food Club to become a space where people from all walks of life feel like they truly belong—not just a certain strata of society. A community where those who don’t usually have access to such spaces feel welcome and included."
Ishani BanerjeeLFC New Delhi
"At the Local Food Club, I noticed so many members bringing their regional preparations. This focus on regional cuisine will help in bridging the gap between understanding each other's cultures more deeply."
Sania NaqviLFC Ahmedabad

Find Your LFC Chapter

The Local Food Club—a new initiative by The Locavore, brings people across India together to celebrate regional flavours, share meals, and build community. Sign up here.

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