TO mark the 500 000th meal, Food for Life Western Region (Pinetown) recently hosted a thanksgiving function for volunteers, donors and well-wishers.

The international feeding scheme started 50 years ago to alleviate hunger, with the Pinetown branch starting in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic by Rajendra Rajpaul and his wife, Indira.

Rajpaul said the branch started when they were inspired by a spiritual teacher, His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivendanta Swami Srila Prabhupada.

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“He saw, from his window, street children fighting for scraps of food with a dog on the street. He immediately told his students to prepare food and distribute it for free to everyone within a 10km radius of our centres worldwide.”

Six years on, Rajpaul proudly said the Pinetown branch now cooks and delivers between 8 000 and 10 000 nutritious vegetarian meals every month.”

Every Saturday, volunteers gather from 04:00 at the Rajpauls’ home kitchen to cook, pack and personally deliver meals to the poorest communities, informal settlements and shelters. Several NGOs from Cliffdale in the north, Pinetown and Districts, Mariannhill, and Bonela, fetch the fresh, hot meals to serve in their respective areas.

During the thanskgiving function, Rajpaul thanked the community for its support and appealed for more hands and hearts to join.

“This is not just about food, it’s about dignity and compassion. We could not have done this without our volunteers and donors,” he said.

Anyone wishing to volunteer, donate groceries or contribute financially can contact Food for Life Pinetown on 076 762 9070. Food for Life is a section 18 A company and donors can claim tax deductions.

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