Desi Today Magazine
HUNDREDS of University of British Columbia students were treated to free food courtesy of the university’s Sikh students, as part of the awareness campaign International Langar Week.
Organised by the Sikh Press Association, International Langar Week is an awareness campaign taking place across the world with the aim of encouraging people to use the free food service which is part of the set up of every single Sikh temple – Gurdwara – in the world.
Langar is free vegetarian food, served in Gurdwara kitchens every day and usually all day. Anyone is welcome to come to a Gurdwara for langar, regardless of faith, gender, age or status. To ensure langar reaches those that really need it, local charity Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen have been serving langar on the streets of Vancouver for approximately four years now.
Jasveer Singh Gill of the Sikh Press Association said of the campaign, “The practice of langar is something that has been ongoing every single day for over 500 years, having been started by the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It now sees over six million meals served every single day in Gurdwaras from Brazil to France. Through raising awareness about langar, we want to help this practice grow.”
Volunteers served things like samosas, chickpea curry and drinks, along with educational leaflets explaining the concept of langar.
Student and organiser of the event Manpreet Kaur stated: “It was great to showcase langar to UBC students and highlight the work of Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen in this city. We hope it helps stamp out hunger in Vancouver by raising awareness not just about their work, but about the service in all Gurdwaras too.”
