New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, New England, Bihar and Gujarat are the states where traditional Soup Kitchen was organized.
The Federation of Indian Associations organized its second edition of “Diwali Soup Kitchen-Spreading Lights of Happiness”. The FIA initiative is a complimentary meal provision to eight state recognized soup kitchens who serve meals to those in need. The meal drive started from 15’October and will lasted till 30’October. All over 30,000 plus meals were distributed by Federation of Indian Associations. Some of the Soup Kitchens with which they worked are “The Salvation Army” -New York, “Trenton Soup Kitchen”-New Jersey, “Open Doors Shelter”- Connecticut, “Eva’s Soup Kitchen”- New Jersey, “Diversity Plaza”- New York.
On October 24, 2021, a soup kitchen was held at Manav Mitra Mandal in Motera, Ahmedabad, India. The volunteers provided 500 food meals in the area. On November 1st, it was held at various locations around Ahmedabad, including Vadaj, Sindhu Bhavan Road and Bopal, where 1,000 meals were distributed. On the 28th of October 2021, a soup kitchen was held in Vadodara.
In the US the soup kitchen was organized at Norwalk, Connecticut on 22nd October 2021 and at Trenton Soup Kitchen on 21st October 2021. Soup Kitchen at Paterson was organized on 2nd November 2021. Soup Kitchen at Port Chester was organized on 28th October 2021. Soup Kitchen at Westbury was organized on 27th October 2021.
Andy Bhatia, Kenny Desai, Prabir Roy, Saurin Parikh, Dr. Pravin Pandhi, Haresh Shah, Anil Bansal and other Federation of Indian Associations members are distributing the meals.
Many people, including government officials, volunteers, and sponsors, took part in the event at numerous places around the United States and India. The event grew as a result of the modest involvement of the volunteers, and it will continue to grow in the subsequent years. FIA is contributing to serve the tri-state community during the auspicious time of the festival of lights. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, FIA has been actively engaged with the community in assisting at different services.