“Sikh Seva” Feeds the Hungry: Marks One Year Anniversary

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014: VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Sangat serving food to the needy in downtown Vancouver marked their first anniversary last month. Thousands of hungry people in need have been served with this initiative. Many of the volunteers were pioneers with GNFK (Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen) and wanted to bring a similar program to Vancouver. For the past year they have been serving food every second Saturdays in downtown Vancouver. The group started with a handful of volunteers with limited resources.

However, it has grown and they are hoping to extend this service to every Saturday. Volunteers bring food items that they cook at the Ross Gurdwara and then serve it at Main and Hastings just in time for lunch. “In the beginning we took food in bigpots and served it in the open and sometimes it would rain. We had no cover. Thankfully, good people from our community have stepped up. We now have tents, proper tables, and containers that keep the food warm. We also have more volunteers and people from the community wanting to help,” they said in a statement.

Ironically, after many months of service they were surprised to hear that the people being helped did not even know who they were or what religion they belonged to.So the name “Sikh Seva” came into formation and a volunteer had t-shirts made with the name and a khanda printed on the front and back. There is no more confusion. They know that the Sikh community, whether its Sikh Seva or GNFK, is providing a great service for them. Everyone is invited to volunteer or bring food items for this collective community effort.

Next date of food service is January 18. Prep begins at 8 am at the Ross Gurdwara.

For more information contact SikhSevaVancouver@gmail. com or call Kevin S. Rakhra 604-649-0173, Amar Singh Sandhu 604-537-6296, Nicky Chohan 604-338-0777 or Jarman S.Hundal 604-218-1521.