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Food for Life
Shrila Prabhupada inspired the Food For life project in 1977. He said, "No one within a ten-mile radius of our temples should go hungry." Food For Life in Britain was started in 1979, operating from Govinda's Restaurant, and fed the residents of 'cardboard city' at London's Embankment daily. Today statistics show that both the number of homeless people and the number of hungry or undernourished people has increased. This is sadly obvious when we walk through the streets of London.
In 1993, a parallel Food for Life programme was established at the Manor. Currently the conspicuous Food for Life van goes out from the Manor daily to three distribution points in North London: Camden Town, Kentish Town and Kings Cross. Over a thousand plates of hot, nutritious food are distributed weekly. The clientele ranges from the homeless and destitute to struggling students. The meals are entirely vegetarian and provide spiritual benefit because they are offered first to Lord Krishna.
In
July 2002, the Food for Life operation, now registered as a new charity, 'Hare
Krishna Food for All', began a joint project with two other charities for the
homeless, 'The Big Issue' and 'Groundswell', working from new premises in Camden
Town.
For more information visit www.iskcon.org.uk/ffl
Camden Centre
A new property has been acquired by Parasuram prabhu and the Food for All team based at the Manor.
The address is 176 Royal College Street, Camden Town, London. The former electrical shop has 5 rooms, and is well located on a main road.
Activities at the new centre will include prasad distribution, mantra meditation and Bhagavad Gita courses, a Sunday program and medical help and assistance from Dr Dean.
There are future plans for a computer room and even a program distributing prasad around the West End on a Hare Krishna rikshaw!
This project is combined with 'Big Issue' and 'Groundswell', so some of their activities will also take place there, such as the storage of Big Issue magazines and leaflets/ links to places of shelter, 'self-help' schemes etc.
Hospital and Prison Chaplaincy
Sickness and hospitalisation are always difficult and may be especially trying or embarrassing for those from a different culture. Hare Krishna devotees are available for anyone needing help and support to recover or to come to terms with his predicament. Counselling is especially important for the terminally ill, and Krishna consciousness provides a gentle but realistic source of hope, comfort and enlightenment.
Devotees provide a similar service to HM Prisons. With prison permission the devotees can arrange individual sessions and group meetings to discuss Krishna conscious beliefs and values and demonstrate how these may be applied to improve the quality of our lives.
| CURRENT ACTIVITY: Over a thousand plates of hot, nutritious food are distributed weekly Food for Life has recently opened a resource centre in Camden Town with the aim of assisting the community in many different ways. |
Copyright
© Bhaktivedanta Manor 2008
UK Headquarters of the International
Society for Krishna Consciousness
Founder-Acarya His Divine Grace A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
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