Over $100,000 in pledges and 50,000 pounds of food was collected for Mississauga’s Seva Food Bank this past weekend. The effort was led by the producers of CJMR 1320 AM radio station to mark the 544th anniversary of Guru Nanak’s birth.
“We really wanted to find a way to put Guru Nanak’s message of equality, social justice and service into practice,” remarked radio host Kuldip Deepak. “The Seva Food Bank is doing just that with its commitment to seva, selfless service, and sarbat da bhalla, the well-being of all humanity.”
On Friday November 15th, the hosts held their third annual sixteen-hour commercial-free radiothon. Just two days later, two-hundred volunteers were mobilized to collect food donations at 27 different locations across the GTA.
“This incredible week will make a direct positive impact on the lives of our client families” commented Seva Food Bank organizer, Manpreet Kaur Sidhu. “The food and funds collected to allow us to not only feed more people but also tackle the issues of food security, hunger and poverty at both our Wolfedale Road and soon to open Malton locations.”
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne also brought a donation for the food drive and took out time to tour the new Malton location with fellow MPPs Linda Jeffrey and Vic Dhillon.
The Seva Food Bank first opened its doors in September 2010 and has grown to distribute 25,000 pounds of food to over 300 client families each month. As part of the Mississauga Food Bank’s city-wide network, it provides safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food across the L5B and L5C postal codes. In early 2014, Seva Food Bank will be opening a second food bank in Malton.