A local faith group has set out to raise a whopping amount of money for the San Antonio Food Bank, and they're well on their way to achieving it. They're members of the Sikh faith, from a temple called Sikh Dharamsal.
Gurpaul Singh is their Director of Community outreach and he said their effort is linked to something called Seva.
"Seva is a concept in our faith of selfless service. Serving the underprivileged and the needy," he said.
On Sundays their temple members traditionally get together for a meal, at least they did until COVID-19 made that impossible. That’s why the idea of food as a meeting point for brotherhood worked for them.
"So, we thought that this would be an innovative way of getting food and groceries into the hands of those who need it most," Singh said.
They identified the San Antonio Food Bank as the recipient for their efforts.
"They're very organized and very efficient with how they distribute food,” he said. “We wanted to support the organization that's best set up in our local community to serve those meals."
They set as their goal as raising $75,000 for the Food Bank, and then had some big fortune right out the gate.
"We got connected to some donors that offered not just to match that, but double-match that," he said.
That means if they succeed in raising $75,000 they will in fact have raised $225,000 for the Food Bank. And they're already quite close.
"I think this is the one time that we can see in a generation where tens of thousands of people who are in the front lines of the hospitality industry and the restaurant industry and retail, overnight suddenly find themselves without a job and a source of income,” Singh said. “And so if there is ever a time to step up, this is the time to do it."
And you don't have to be Sikh to donate.
Jack Morgan can be reached at Jack@TPR.org and on Twitter at @JackMorganii.
TPR was founded by and is supported by our community. If you value our commitment to the highest standards of responsible journalism and are able to do so, please consider making your gift of support today.
