Market vendors and passengers at the Suva bus station took advantage of free lunches yesterday provided by the Hare Krishna movement.

The members of the Hare Krishna faith distributed 1000 serves of food to passers-by.

There were no restrictions on the number of serves they could take so some were seen with more than one takeaway pack of vegetarian curry and rice.

Hare Krishna devotee Manoj Kumar said the distribution of food marked their last day on a pilgrimage.

“Devotees went on a pilgrimage from Raralevu,” he said.

“We started last Sunday and today (yesterday) is the final day.”

Mr Kumar said the distribution of food was not new.

“There is a lot of disparity in society,” he said. “This is due to the lack of food.

“We are doing this peacefully.”

Mr Kumar said devotees on the pilgrimage chanted the name of the Lord Krishna and prayed and sang to praise him.

Hare Krishna devotees are vegetarians and forbidden to have illicit sex. They do not gamble or drink alcohol.