Sikh charity offers free food to tackle poverty

Soul Aid Founder Deepak Singh and Owner of Kulcha Express, Ramjinder Maan Palvinder Singh

A Sikh charity is offering free meals to those in need in a bid to tackle food poverty.

Soul Aid, which was founded by Deepak Singh in 2017, works with Ramjinder Maan Palvinder Singh, the owner and chef of Kulcha Express restaurant in Ilford, and together they deliver hundreds of free meals in boxes across Essex.

They also serve free meals at a food collection point in Connaught Road, Ilford, every Friday.

Mr Singh is helped by more than 100 volunteers and said the weekly feeds “are open to everyone, and there is no limit to how many people who can come”.

Mr Singh set up the charity to spread awareness about food poverty.

"We wanted to help out those who are less fortunate regardless of race and religion, and we noticed a growing need for those who need help," he said.

"We were also watching social media, so we decided to set up Soul Aid for those who needed access to food."

Mr Singh had already been helping those in need for more than 20 years but decided to formalise what he was doing.

People are offered a free meal of mainly traditional Punjabi cuisine, which has been donated by Kulcha Express, at the food collection point in Ilford. The charity also makes meal deliveries.

Soul Aid is approached for food by people of all ages, genders and religions, with some homeless and some employed, either directly through social media, email or telephone. It is also contacted by other charities who let them know about people in need, and every case is assessed.

"We've seen a rise of about 50% of people coming to eat a free meal because of the rise of the cost of living, and it's also really nice food as well," Mr Singh said.

"We noticed that there are more people coming, and it's not a problem as we will just serve more," he added.

Free meals are provided by Soul Aid and produced by the Kulcha Express restaurant

According to the anti-poverty charity, Trussell Trust, millions of people are facing food poverty and experiencing hardship and hunger in the UK - one in five are children.

Five out of the nine regions in England saw a rise in food parcel provision between April 2023 and March 2024. There was also an 8% increase in the East of England in the number of food parcels delivered - nearly 350,000 in total.

The analysis of the latest data also showed 6.3 million adults and 3 million children were living below the poverty line and were most likely to be using a food bank or were at risk of doing so, said the charity.

The total figure for the year to March 2023 was up by 580,000 from the previous year and had risen by a million in five years. The charity said this was a record high since records began in 2000.

Trussell, which operates a network of food banks across the UK, said the latest figures equated to one in seven people facing hunger and hardship.