Will Surrey and Richmond accept New Westminster city council’s challenge?
With a motto of Love All, Feed All, Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen supports people in need across the Lower Mainland. Each weekend, the group serves about 1,000 hot meals, cooked at the Gurdwara Sahib Sukh Sagar, to people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood.
“For the past 17 years, this food has been prepared in the New Westminster Gurdwara by our volunteers, our motto being: Love All, Feed All,” said Holly Mitton, a volunteer with Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen. “With the help from generous donors and community members, we are able to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families. Beyond just serving food, we also provide essential items to shelters, Indigenous communities, and other charities including shelters and food banks here in New West.”
Mitton told city council that GNFK’s goal is to go from providing food from two days a week to seven days a week at a building it recently acquired on East Hastings Street in Vancouver.
“This is a very big undertaking. The building is awaiting permits, and then we will begin renovations so that we will be fully operational and become a resource to those who are in need,” she said. “In order to see this project succeed, we need funds.”
The Guru Nanak Free Kitchen is holding its third annual charity bike-a-thon and walk-a-thon on Sunday, Sept. 10. Funds raised at the event will support its Growing Together campaign, which aims to raise $2 million for its permanent kitchen facility in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and to use this space to serve up to 20,000 free meals and drinks each month to folks in need.
The fundraiser starts and finishes in New Westminster, going to Iona Beach Regional Park in Richmond before returning to Queensborough. It includes 60- and 100-kilometre options for cyclists and 2- and 10-km options for walkers.
“Everyone is welcome regardless of fitness level, skin colour, religion, or orientation. With the motto Love All, Feed All, we will do exactly that,” Mitton told council. “We challenge each of you to join us in this mission.”
At the July 10 council meeting, Mitton thanked Mayor Patrick Johnstone and Coun. Ruby Campbell for already having registered for the event.
“We hope to have others who are here with us today to join as well. We also hope that any other city mayors and council members will also follow suit. The New West Fire Department has promised us a fire truck for the grand finale, where we will celebrate the successes of this event. You can expect great food, prizes and a lot of fun. This is a family event, and we intend to have as many people from the New West community participate as possible.”
Campbell said she has put together a team, Walk and Roll, which will be raising money for the campaign.
“Thank you for the great work that you’re doing,” Campbell said, “and thank you for all the work you’re doing, not just for New Westminster but for the whole Lower Mainland.”
Saying that “New Westminster loves a good challenge”, Coun. Nadine Nakagawa suggested council should challenge another municipality.
“Who should we challenge?” she said.
On behalf of New Westminster city council, Johnstone will reach out to Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke and challenge their councils to see who can raise the most money for Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen.
Mitton said GNFK was founded in 2006 by five individuals who saw a need and were determined to ease the hunger of those in the Downtown Eastside.
“The needs in the Downtown Eastside continue to grow. People are often on the streets for many different reasons. Our minds always go to drugs, alcohol, and addiction. But life can throw everyone a curveball; No one is immune to hard times. For whatever reason people end up on the streets, it is not for us to judge,” she said. “Our goal is to go from providing food two days a week to seven days a week, and with our recently acquired building on East Hastings we will do just that.”
Everyone, said Mitton, has an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life.
“What better way than putting food into a hungry belly?” she said. “Some people wonder: what difference can I make? But I promise you, you can make a difference. When we stop thinking about ourselves and turn our attention to others, we can make an impact that has a ripple effect and can change the lives of those we engage with for years to come. You can become a part of their life story.”
