Food For Life

Food for Life is the world's largest vegan/vegetarian food relief organization with projects in over 50 countries. As the name suggests, Food for Life is a unique project for bringing "food" and "life" to the needy of the world through the liberal distribution of karma-free vegetarian meals.

Food for Life's volunteers serve more than 450,000 free meals daily from their many free food restaurants, mobile kitchens, school feeding prograns and disaster relief services. It is the largest vegetarian/vegan food relief in the world. More than 50% of the meals are strictly vegan and all are sanctified.

With roots in Indian culture, the Food for Life project is a modern day revival of the ancient Vedic culture of hospitality. Since the beginning of recorded time, sharing of food has been a fundamental part of the civilized world and in India, such hospitality was based on the understanding of the equality of all beings.

In 1974, an elderly Indian swami, Srila Prabhupada, shocked and saddened upon seeing a group of village children fighting with street dogs over scraps of food, told his yoga students: “No one within ten miles of a temple should go hungry . . . I want you to immediately begin serving food.” Hearkening to the swami’s plea, ISKCON devotees around the world were inspired to expand that original effort into a global network of free food kitchens, cafes, vans, and mobile services, establishing daily delivery routes in many large cities around the world.

FFL volunteer serving hot vegetarian meals in Sri Lanka after the tsunami

Disaster Relief

FOOD FOR LIFE also provides food relief in times of natural and man-made disasters:

Sarajevo War

In the war zone of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzagovina, FOOD FOR LIFE 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.

Chechnya War

FOOD FOR LIFE’s most valiant efforts in war-torn Grozny, Chechnya were noted in a New York Times article ( December 12 1995 ) that stated: “Here, FOR LIFE volunteers have a reputation like the one Mother Teresa has in Calcutta: it’s not hard finding people to swear they are saints.”

Tsunami 2004

FOOD FOR LIFE was the first food relief agency to respond to the tsunami disaster of December 2004. Volunteers in Sri Lanka and India provided more than 350,000 freshly cooked meals during the months immediately following the tsunami, along with medical care, water, clothing, and shelter. {Link without Title}

Hurricane Katrina

FOOD FOR LIFE, was one of the first responders to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in late August, by providing freshly cooked meals to needy families in Mississippi and then Texas.
A Food for Life team based in Houston began serving hot meals to the many displaced victims who had been relocated to shelters. Up to 800 meals were served daily to Hurricane survivors. {Link without Title}

Pakistan Earthquake

FOOD FOR LIFE from Jammu, Amritsar, New Delhi and Harwar 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. Soon after arriving in fresh meals were cooked and survivors were fed, sheltered and clothed by Food for Life. {Link without Title}

All food prepared and distributed by FOOD FOR LIFE is sanctified, a term rooted in Hindu tradition. People of all faiths, however, are familiar with the spiritual practices of thanksgiving and offering to God the first of the earth’s yield. The meals provided by Food for Life thus nourish both body and soul.

Food for Life has provided more than 150 million free meals to the needy since 1974. For more information or to make a contribution, please visit their web site. {Link without Title}

Paul Turner, A.k.a Priyavrata Das , 26 December 2005 (UTC)

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Food For Life

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