Dignity first
No one we serve is a photo opportunity. Every person we work with is a partner, never a passive recipient of charity.
About DeepRoots Foundation
Our Story
A land that feeds the nation, and still goes hungry
Vidarbha grows the cotton that clothes the world. It grows the soybean, orange, and pulses that fill markets across the country. And yet, in the same soil, nearly a third of children under five in tribal districts like Gadchiroli, Melghat, and Yavatmal grow up chronically malnourished. In Melghat, this has been a heartbreak the nation has known about for decades and still hasn't solved.
This isn't really about a shortage of food. It's about distance—the gap between a government scheme written on paper and the family it was supposed to reach. We believe that gap is bridgeable. That's why we exist.
30-35% of children under five in tribal Vidarbha face chronic malnutrition
3 phases carry our work forward: food, then education, then livelihood
10,000 people we aim to reach with daily nutrition support in our first 18 months
Vision & Mission
Empowering communities. Transforming futures.
We don't see hunger, dropped-out schooling, and joblessness as three separate crises. They're the same story, told in different rooms of the same house.
So our mission is one sentence that takes a lifetime to live out: end hunger as the first barrier standing between a person and their potential, then walk beside them toward education, work, and a life of real dignity. We start with the plate because no child can focus in school on an empty stomach. But we don't plan to stop there.
“That first meal is not a favour. It is a right.”
Core Values
We're young. We won't pretend otherwise.
Inclusion without exception
We go to the communities that state welfare tends to miss.
Evidence and accountability
We measure what we do and we publish it—both the wins and the failures alike. Our accounts are open for anyone to see.
Built with communities
Nothing we design happens without the people it's meant to serve.
Local roots, global standards
Our language, relationships, and solutions come from Vidarbha's soil, held to the rigour of the best organisations in the world.
We know we don't have decades of track record yet. What we can offer instead is honesty. You'll always be able to see exactly where your support goes.
Core Team
Meet the people driving the movement
DeepRoots Foundation started with people from Vidarbha who chose to act instead of looking away. Meet the founders and team who are on the ground every day.
Utkarsh Meshram
Founder
He completed his graduation from TISS Mumbai with an MS in Regulatory Policy and Governance.
Prayas Sarvadhikari
Founder
Placeholder bio for Prayas.
Mehul
Technical Head
Placeholder bio for Mehul.