Members of Sewa Diwali pose for a photo after helping deliver a large food donation to People In Need, Inc. of Delaware County.
Courtesy | PIN
The organizers of Sewa Diwali stepped forward recently with a donation of 2,222 pounds of food to support the pantry at People In Need, Inc. on Nov. 18.
The gesture came as part of Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which takes place in October/November annually. Sewa Diwali is a national initiative by Dharmic communities, individuals, and organizations who believe in the Sewa Dharma: “Service to Humanity is Service to Divinity.”
“This has been an amazing partnership with Sewa Diwali over the past several years,” said PIN’s Director of Development and Marketing Dan Coutcher. “Since 2020, this group has brought in more than 12,000 pounds of food to support our mission. Especially at the holiday season, their generosity goes a long way in helping our community.”
PIN and representatives from Sewa Diwali were joined by Delaware City Council members Catlin Frazier and Kevin Rider for the donation delivery, brought to the Food Pantry on Johnson Drive in several fully-loaded vehicles.
Raj Gopalakrishnan, of Sewa Diwali, gave special thanks to the many organizations and individuals who made the donation – and delivery – possible: “From the bottom of our heart, we would like to thank all our volunteers, community members, partnering organizations, food pantry members for their outstanding support.”
In addition to its support of PIN and Delaware County, the organization also donated 2,000 pounds of food to the NNEMAP Food Pantry in Columbus this year, expanding its impact and assisting neighbors throughout central Ohio.
And, in addition to the busy holiday season, Sewa Diwali’s support comes at a pivotal time as PIN’s recent service numbers indicate a 40%-plus in requests for food assistance over 2022. The increase in services has led to challenges with keeping their shelves full.
“This really did help us stick our shelves for the long weeks ahead. They brought the exact kinds of foods we needed to fill in the gaps on our shelves,” Coutcher said. “It seriously would have been a rough couple of weeks if this 2,000 pounds wasn’t here.”
Learn more about these organizations by visiting DelawarePeopleInNeed.org and sewadiwali.org.
Submitted by People In Need, Inc. of Delaware County Ohio (PIN).
