Sikh Volunteers Australia is providing free, vegetarian meals to those struggling financially during the holiday season.
A team of volunteers in Melbourne is working through the holiday period to ensure those who are struggling do not go without. The festive season is traditionally associated with big indulgent feasts shared with family and friends. But with the cost-of-living crisis looming large, it is an especially trying time for many Australians.
In Melbourne, a team of Sikh volunteers is working through the holiday period, giving out warm and healthy meals free of charge, to ensure people doing it tough do not go without.Running since 2017, Sikh Volunteers Australia's initiative has provided free meals in a range of crisis situations, including floods, fires, and at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the non-profit organisation served up more than 100,000 meals as Melbourne grappled with lockdowns. Sikh Volunteers Australia chief executive Jaswinder Singh said the service was, once more, experiencing higher demand due to inflation.Each week the organisation cooks food at its headquarters in the suburb of Langwarrin.Meal boxes are packed into a customised van equipped with a bain-marie and fridge to keep the food fresh then served up from a variety of public locations across the city.The offering is ever-changing but is always vegetarian. Kidney beans and rice was being dished out when the ABC visited the van while parked behind a Frankston supermarket.Inflation hits volunteer numbers nationally While commitment from team members like Mr Singh Brar was unwavering, Mr Singh said the organisation's volunteer base had felt the cost-of-living squeeze.'The number of people who can volunteer previously are not available because everyone is doing a couple of extra hours or working an extra day of the week,' he said.According to the national peak body for volunteering, organisations across the country are experiencing a slump in volunteer numbers for the same reaso
COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS VOLUNTEERISM FOOD SECURITY SIKH COMMUNITY MELBOURNE
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