“Sikh Seva” Marks One Year Anniversary With Feeding The Hungry

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Sangatserving food to the needy in downtownVancouver marked their first anniversarylast month. Thousands of hungry peoplein need have been served with thisinitiative.Many of the volunteers were pioneerswith GNFK (Guru Nanak’s FreeKitchen) and wanted to bring a similarprogram to Vancouver. For the past yearthey have been serving food every secondSaturdays in downtown Vancouver.The group started with a handful of volunteerswith limited resources. However,it has grown and they are hoping toextend this service to every Saturday.Volunteers bring food items that theycook at the Ross Gurdwara and thenserve it at Main and Hastings just in timefor lunch.“In the beginning we took food in bigpots and served it in the open and sometimesit would rain. We had no cover.Thankfully, good people from our communityhave stepped up. We now havetents, proper tables, and containers thatkeep the food warm. We also have morevolunteers and people from the communitywanting to help,” they said in a statement.Ironically, after many months of servicethey were surprised to hear that the peoplebeing helped did not even know whothey were or what religion they belongedto.So the name “Sikh Seva” came into formationand a volunteer had t-shirts madewith the name and a kanda printed onthe front and back. There is no moreconfusion. They know that the Sikhcommunity, whether its Sikh Seva orGNFK, is providing a great service forthem.Everyone is invited to volunteer or bringfood items for this collective communityeffort. Next date of food service isJanuary 18. Prep begins at 8 am at theRoss Gurdwara.For more information contactSikhSevaVancouver@gmail. com or callKevin S. Rakhra 604-649-0173, AmarSingh Sandhu 604-537-6296, NickyChohan 604-338-0777 or Jarman S.Hundal 604-218-1521.