To commemorate its fourth anniversary in Surrey on July 1st, the Guru Nanak Food Bank in Surrey established an ambitious goal: to collect a record-breaking amount of food donations. The food bank initially aimed to gather 313 tonnes of food in a single day for their mega-food drive, aspiring to make it the largest of its kind in North America. To everyone’s surprise, the food bank exceeded this target, ultimately collecting an astonishing 384.5 tonnes of donations.

“In 11 hours, which is fantastic,” said Neeraj Walia, the head of operations at GNFB. “The food bank staff is very happy, with big smiles on their faces,” he added from the warehouse floor, where shelves were being stocked. Walia emphasized, “Not a single penny came from the government. It’s by the people, for the people.”

The community contributed essentials like pasta, rice, flour, and soup—none of which were purchased with external funding. The next challenge for the food bank is to organize and distribute these donations to those in need promptly. “We need to check the best-before dates on all the products to ensure we use the items that expire soonest first,” Walia explained. Thanks to the community’s generosity, the Guru Nanak Food Bank now has enough supplies to support people for the next six to eight months.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Walia started offering free grocery distribution at Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib. However, it became clear that people needed more help, and the First Sikh Food Bank was established as a permanent community service by the Sikh community, with the motto “Recognizing all human races as one.”