Food for Life
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- For the Television Broadcasts drama, see Yummy Yummy: Food For Life
Food for Life is the world's largest vegan and vegetarian non-profit food relief organization with projects in over 60 countries[1]. Volunteers serve more than 1,000,000 free meals daily[2] in a variety of ways, including: food vans serving to the homeless within major cities around the world; lunch time meals for poor school children throughout India; and also in response to large natural disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.[3]
With roots in India, the Food for Life project is a modern day revival of the ancient Vedic culture of hospitality with its belief in the equality of all beings. It was conceived of and began by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in 1974 and is thus commonly known as Hare Krishna Food for Life. It has been lauded by the New York Times and the International Rescue Committee (among others) for its relief efforts worldwide.[4]
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[edit] History
Food for Life as a project was initially inspired by elderly Indian Swami, known as A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In 1974 when watching a group of village children fighting with dogs over scraps of food, the Swami became upset and told his students, "No one within ten miles of a temple should go hungry...I want you to immediately begin serving food." [5] In response to his plea, members of ISKCON around the world were inspired to expand that original effort into a global network of kitchens, cafes, vans, and mobile services, all providing free food, and establishing daily delivery routes in many large cities around the world.
[edit] Disaster Relief
[edit] Siege of Sarajevo
In the war zone of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, volunteers visited orphanages, homes for the elderly, hospitals, institutes for handicapped children, and basement shelters on a daily basis throughout the three-year conflict; an estimated 20 tons of food have been distributed since 1992.[citation needed]
[edit] Chechnyan Wars
In a New York Times article dated (December 12, 1995) volunteers in Chechnya were described as having "a reputation like the one Mother Teresa has in Calcutta: it’s not hard finding people to swear they are saints." [6]
[edit] 2004 Tsunami
Food for Life was the first food relief agency to respond to the tsunami disaster of December 2004. On the same afternoon the great tsunami hit, Vaisnava monks at ISKCON's temple in Chennai, India were preparing their weekly Sunday vegetarian feast, when they heard of the disaster. They immediately raced to the most affected areas on the southeast coastline of India and began serving thousands of people with their preprepared vegetable curry. Over the following 6 months, Food for Life Volunteers in Sri Lanka,India, Europe, USA and Australia provided more than 350,000 freshly cooked meals, along with medical care, water, clothing, and shelter for children at ISKCON's orphanage in Colombo, the Bhaktivedanta Children's Home.
[edit] Hurricane Katrina
Volunteers responded to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in late August of 2005 by providing meals to families relocated to Mississippi and Texas. Up to 800 meals were served daily.[citation needed]
[edit] Pakistan Earthquake
Volunteers from Jammu, Amritsar, New Delhi and Haridwar came together to provide relief for victims of the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Working from an ISKCON temple in Udhampur, which was within the earthquake-affected region, the volunteers loaded trucks with drinking water, rice, bread, and blankets.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ About Food for Life Global
- ^ About Food for Life Global
- ^ European Vegetarian and Animal News Agency article: Interview with Paul Turner
- ^ Network for Good
- ^ About Food for Life
- ^ New York Times, December 12, 1995
[edit] External links
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