Feed the Hungry campaign needs your help

Working with the London Langar group, the United Sikhs charity have launched a campaign to raise the profile of the Sikh sangat’s worldwide Feed the Hungry initiative in the capital.

United Sikhs are inviting volunteers to join in the preparation and delivery of hot food to rough sleepers and other needy people supported by two sheltered homes, in Bethnal Green and Bow.

United Sikhs volunteer organiser Gurpreet Kaur told Sikhs Online it was hoped that eventually some of the city’s gurdwaras would combine to increase the number of deliveries on a regular basis and give Feed the Hungry a bigger presence among the London welfare charities.

Gurpreet has personally identified a need for weekly deliveries of food to homeless people on the streets and the London Langar group wants to step up the occasional deliveries it makes to the sheltered homes – the Dellow Centre in Wentworth Street, Tower Hamlets, and Heather Lodge in Violet Road, Bow.

Food is dropped off at the Dellow Centre, where the Providence Row charity provides essential services such as food, showers and laundry facilities for people brought low by mental health and substance misuse problems.

Food is both delivered and served at Heather Lodge, which also provides support for people with mental health difficulties.

Gurpreet Kaur, an accountant by profession, has been preparing food and taking it out midweek to rough sleepers in the city since January.

She saw the need for such help after working for four years in the Crisis charity team that provides Christmas shelter and sustenance for the homeless in central London.

Gurpreet, a New Zealander, was struck by the plight of the homeless when she arrived in England because by comparison her home country was free of such visible misfortune.

She said: “I used to give them money but people told me: ‘No, no, no – don’t do that! They will only use it for drugs’.

“Then I came across Crisis and saw how many people were in need of help. And this time December and January were so cold that I decided to carry on helping by making my deliveries to people in the streets once a week.”

She is now well known to rough sleepers in the Strand and Waterloo areas – about 20 in all.

Gurpreet believes that more can be done and is inviting volunteers to contact her on 07904973460.

United Sikhs and London Langar combined to prepare food on Saturday April 11 for a Vasakhi festival distribution.

Gurpreet joined with Vineet Kaur and Rajinder Singh of London Langar for this effort which celebrated the first anniversary of the langar group’s food run to the two sheltered homes. Vineet can be contacted on 07956541536 for more information about the work of London Langar.

She is joining with Vineet Kaur and Rajinder Singh of London Langar for this effort which will celebrate the first anniversary of the langaar group’s food run to the two sheltered homes. Vineet can be contacted on 07956541536 for more information about this charitable endeavour.

Gurpreet said Feed the Hungry would not grow in London without the formation of a sizeable group of volunteers.

Central Gurdwara at 62 Queensdale Road, Shepherds Bush, is among the first to help. It made its langar hall available for food preparation and packing for the Versakhi distribution.

If you would like to help build London’s Feed the Hungry movement, call Gurpreet or email her at gurpreet.kaur@unitedsikhs.org

If you wish to find out more about the services provided for homeless people at the Dellow Centre you can obtain a short film, Rebuilding Lives, Restoring Dignity, from Providence Row by emailing a request to info@providencerow.org.uk