No shame in honest work : Young medical students run food stalls
Food stalls provide honest earning avenues to youngsters
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 04 2026: Early morning at a roadside food stall, they would slice fresh fruits with kitchen knives, and by day, with stethoscopes around their necks, they would pick up surgical scalpels and learn the science of being a doctor.

Naorem Jackson Meetei and Soyam Sunshining Chanu are young second year MBBS students at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Porompat, yet, they run a breakfast stall every morning before classes begin at 8 .

They are among many young entrepreneurs who have embraced self-employment for income generation and revolutionised the local food culture.

No shame in honest work : Young medical students run food stalls

"There is no shame in selling healthy foods and earning income to help the family," says Jackson.

Helping them run the stall are Jackson's three younger brothers.

Together, the five open the stall early every morning everyday at Kanglapat, attracting many joggers.

While Jackson belongs to a humble family from Tellou Mayai Leikai, Sunshining Chanu's family was displaced by the violent conflict which erupted in May 2023 .

Sunshining Chanu's family fled their Thamnapokpi home during the height of the conflict in 2023.While she is staying at the institute's hostel (JNIMS), her family is taking shelter at a relief camp.

When this reporter visited them at their stall, Jackson shared that they opened the stall to earn some money and help their families.

Jackson said his father is a cultivator and his mother, a weaver.

"Our parents have always worked hard to provide for the family and our needs.

Therefore, it is also our duty to help them and ourselves.

Opening this small breakfast stall is not much but is helping us earn some income and lift some of the burden of our parents," Jackson said.

Jackson also acknowledged that the number of youth opening food stalls and employing themselves has increased, and said it is a "positive sign" .

"There is nothing to be ashamed about doing honest work, opening a food stall and earning money.

Work is work, and we all have to earn our living and provide for our family," Jackson said.

Running the breakfast stall, Jackson said, is "hard-work" but "rewarding" .

"It is not all about earning money.

What we are selling is "healthy breakfast," he said.

Explaining, Jackson said, being a medical student, he encounters many cases of illness at the hospital and many of the illnesses are a result of what people consume daily.

"Eating healthy breakfast and meals can help keep many of the diseases away.

Apart from earning income, our effort is to provide healthy breakfast and encourage people to adopt healthy food habits," Jackson said.

Jackson said many of the morning joggers have become regular customers at their stall.

When asked about difficulties he faces managing the stall and his studies, Jackson said it was hard at first but has eased now and become a routine.

"I guess all kinds of work are hard at first.

But, we are five and we are putting in the best of efforts to help each other and work as a team," Jackson said.

Acknowledging his siblings' and parents' help, Jackson said they prepare the fruits and all the materials for breakfasts at home.

Jackson said he helps sell breakfast at Kanglapat until 6.30 am and returns to the institute (JNIMS) to join classes at 8 am.

"Because the ingredients--apples, dry fruits etc--used in the breakfast are expensive, we earn less," Jackson said.

Sometimes the sale is good and sometimes it is bad.

There have been days when they made very little sales and made no profits.

The sale is usually very low on rainy days, Jackson said.

"Even though we aren't making much profit, it is fun and rewarding.

It is kind of a life lesson and it just feels positive," Jackson said.

When Kanglapat area in the morning has other stalls too, Tiddim roadsides and Canchipur area also are swarmed with food vending stalls in the morning and evening.

From fruit juice to coffee and momos to chicken nuggets, each stall sells varieties of foods, attracting hundreds of customers daily.

The stalls come alive especially in the evening when people, after their hectic work schedule, come out for a stroll and socialise with friends and families.

A young man of just 23 years, who runs a food stall along Tiddim road, said the street food culture is a change that has encouraged him and many other youth to become entrepreneurs and embrace self employment.

"There is an unemployment issue.

People, especially the youth, no longer feel Government jobs as the only path to financial security," he said.

More youth in Manipur are increasingly becoming comfortable employing themselves and becoming independent.

It is a positive sign, he added.