Sai Dham Food Bank is a part of Sai Dham Canada — an Institution of love. We are a non-profit, charitable organization, focused on providing food to those who require assistance in a respectful, supportive, and effective way. The brother-sister pair of Vishal Khanna and Subhra Mukherjee founded the Sai Dham Food Bank in 2012 in a basement with their own savings. After immigrating from India, they settled in Mississauga and were shocked to read a newspaper article about seniors and those with disabilities living below the poverty line in the Peel Region. Subhra even sold off her jewelry to be able to provide meals to seniors in the community.
In an article by Broadview, Subhra Mukherjee says “When we started delivering to people’s homes, we could actually see the conditions they were living in. We saw seniors with nothing. Empty fridges, cockroaches running around, and no one to take care of them.” She further says, “We were so shocked and appalled that this could be happening in a first world country, and, at the number of seniors and people living with disabilities who were unable to access food banks due to mobility issues. That’s when we decided to do something about it.” as reported in The Record. She outlines the origin of Sai Dham in an article from Reader’s Digest, where she states, “ We never thought about a food bank; we just wanted to provide a service to humanity.”
Sai Dham Food Bank is the pioneer of home deliveries of food hampers after discovering that seniors could not easily get to food banks. Despite the fact that there are many food banks nearby, seniors are unable to use them if there is no easy way to get there owing to their mobility issues or bring back heavy bags of food.
Another unique feature of Sai Dham Food Bank is that each food hamper is customized according to the individual’s medical records, cultural background, and preferences, thereby reducing food waste and serving food that people can actually use.
Currently, Sai Dham Food Bank impacts about 25,000+ individuals in the community each month through our diverse programs. The pioneering home delivery of customized hampers reaches 1600 seniors and disabled at their doorstep. The Homeless program serves over 1200 warm meals every weekend in different cities. The Children’s Breakfast program delivers over 5000 nutritious breakfasts and monthly food hampers across 4 schools in the Peel region. Over 1400 food hampers have already been distributed to international students facing food insecurity. Sai Dham Food Bank is one of the only food banks that is open 7 days a week and lines open 24 hours, and knows no boundaries, as it operates across 26 cities in the GTA and beyond.
Sai Dham Food Bank’s mission is to foster a hunger-free, stress-free, socially connected, and supportive community in which every individual’s well-being is a collective responsibility.
As Mother Teresa beautifully says, “Love is not patronizing and charity isn’t about pity, it is about love. Charity and love are the same — with charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead.” We encourage you to join our cause to donate- even a small sum helps- to help feed the ones in need! Feel free to visit our website www.saidhamfoodbank.com and be a part of this cause.