Thiruvananthapuram: At least 68 lakh families in Kerala have received the free Onam food kits through the ration shops. State Food and Civil Supplies minister G R Anil urged the remaining families to collect the kits before Onam which falls on September 8.

The distribution of free Onam food kits to ration card holders started on August 23. The distribution will go on till September 7. The kit contains 14 items.
The minister said the aim of distributing the food kits was to ensure that no one sleeps hungry during the festival.

"As of now, 73 per cent families have collected the food kits from the ration shops," the minister said in a release on Saturday.

The minister also urged the people to make use of the special Onam market and other special melas arranged by the Agriculture department and other cooperative societies in the state to rein in price hike for essentials during this festive season.

The 14-item food kit consists of sugar, green gram, coconut oil, tea powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder, ghee, salt, cashew nuts among other items.