Food for Life

The Food for Life (FFL) team continued to soldier on with their goal of feeding the homeless fresh and nutritious prasadam as the pandemic extended through the months of September and October. They have also been preparing themselves for another lockdown.

As the evenings start to get darker sooner and with chillier nights, the FFL team have been working on providing sleeping bags for the homeless to help them battle the cold. A special thank you to all those who kindly contributed to the purchase of sleeping bags for the homeless, namely Aaisha, Alkesh, Bhavna Pandit, Bijal Pandit, Bindu Patel, Dea Bhatt, Dhaivat Acharya, Hitesh Daudia, Inderjits Ubhey, Jacqui Defoe, Jasi Kaur, Minu Mehta, Pam Kalha, Pratik Patel, Sabreena Tarmohamed, Samir Patel, Sibal and Zenab Khan.

NEW ELECTRIC VAN LAUNCH

FFL marked a milestone at Christmas by introducing the UK’s first fully electric food distribution van to serve Londoners. Thanks to the efforts of the ISKCON-London community, the team will now be able to serve hundreds with the new zero emissions van.

The van was unveiled at a virtual event on Sunday 20th December, which also marked the 51st installation anniversary of Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha-Londonisvara. The event was hosted by Rahul Singh and Maria Karelina who were playing two budding YouTubers visiting a Hare Krishna Temple for the first time. Highlights of the launch event included the journey of the van, a Vedic ceremony by Head Pujari Murli Manohara dasa, interviews with the Temple President Jai Nitai dasa, Govinda’s Restaurant Manager Thirupati Gauranga dasa, FFL Chief Organiser Acyuta Charan dasa, and the Project Lead Rajiv Nandha. Special guests who joined virtually, including Indradyumna Swami, Sacinandana Swami, Bhakti Rasamrita Swami, and Deputy Mayor of London Rajesh Agrawal, all shared their messages of support. The van has received widespread praise for the design. The project team worked with designers Jagannath Sharan dasa, Shyl Patel, Henna Limbacia and Ambika Design. One side of the van features the iconic London skyline, with a lotus flower representing ISKCON-London’s contribution of Krishna consciousness in the city. The back of the van contains the Maha Mantra modelled on the Temple’s own harinama devotees, a feature that is now famously part of London’s streets. The other side shows Lord Krishna with a cow, representing ISKCON-London’s transition to Ahimsa milk and a beautiful painting of Srimati Radharani. The highlight for everyone has been Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra Devi on the front of the van designed by Ambika Design from Belarus. In full festive spirit, alongside the launch of the electric food van, the team also served thousands of free meals over 10 days across 10 miles during the Christmas period. This activity makes the connection with the instruction of ISKCON’s founder, Srila Prabhupada, that no-one within 10 miles of a Hare Krishna Temple should go hungry. FFL will now be able to fulfill this in an environmentally-friendly way serving fresh hot nutritious meals.

Watch the van launch event here:

https://fb.watch/2OUs-1rzOF/

Hear the message from Deputy Mayor of London, Rajesh Agrawal:

http://bit.ly/fflvanlaunch-message-deputymayor

“The project conception began in November 2018 when I helped at Food for Life for the first time and noticed the need for a new van. Inspired by Shyamasundar dasa’s Chasing Rhino’s book, we decided to aim high and capture the rhino in the UK’s first electric food van in service of the movement. Over 350 fundraisers walked and chanted the Hare Krishna mantra on the streets of London, and over 1,000 people from various backgrounds donated to the cause. It required a lot of time to obtain the van as a fully electric food van has never been manufactured before in the UK.” Rajiv Nandha, Project Lead shares the inspiration and journey of the project

A Poem by a FFL Volunteer

I was willingly called to service when going out was banned But the fear never rose inside me Because trust held onto my hand. I was willingly called to service and my heart just led the way through abandoned streets of London Serving prasad and love every day. I was willingly called to service and service became part of me Offering food and making friends and building a street family. I was willingly called to service whilst COVID raged a war But my heart started beating for Krishna with a love like never before. I was willingly called to service during the pandemic of Twenty Twenty And my life will never be the same with Krishna right beside me. “As part of the van launch, we reached out to homeless shelters, food banks, care homes, NHS staff, key workers and to those in need across London. It has been a humbling experience so far delivering over 2,500 meals to those in need, including struggling families. Along with the meals we also gifted over 1,500 books of spiritual wisdom (led by Shyamavallabha Gopi devi dasi and Janaki Mehta). We are grateful to all those who have been involved.” Dharmita Bhanderi and Hemna Santilale, Food Distribution Leads

“The new van will help Govinda’s to expand, to reach more locations to distribute sanctified food. We plan to visit festivals, markets, Rathayatras, and even give people the option to rent for special occasions. The van is equipped with a fitted kitchen, full-size fridge, cooking facilities, and it even has two hatches from which food will be served. As well as Govinda’s famous thali, we also plan to serve dosas and pancakes.” Thirupati Gauranga dasa, Govinda’s Restaurant Manager