ISKCON of Baltimore devotees sharing prasadam with the city’s grateful residents.

“The Hunger Free Zone” is a non-profit organization of ISKCON Baltimore with a mission to distribute prasadam to the community at large. With its own food truck, devotee volunteers go out every day, except Sunday, to distribute free vegan prasadam to the people of Baltimore City. Since its inception three years ago, the Hunger Free Zone has distributed over 167,600 free vegan meals.

Grateful recipients note that the food is delicious and shared freely with all. “I’ve partaken of the generosity of the food truck. It’s good vegan food. I like the macaroni and the porridge [halva]; it’s a little sweet.” said one of the regulars, Clement Parker Bay. “It’s lunchtime, and I was just thinking how hungry I was, and then you guys pulled up. So that was like right on time, God sent you,” said Mrs. Haney recently.

No matter the weather, the devotees gather to serve Srila Prabhupada’s mission: “that no one within a 10-mile radius of any temple should go hungry.” After a festival in Mayapur, West Bengal, Srila Prabhupada looked down from the balcony of his room. He saw children and women eating leftover scraps in heaps of trash. After this, he gave us this lifelong service of distributing prasadam worldwide.

In the early days, the ISKCON Food For Life (FFL) program utilized many different methods for distributing prasadam, including kitchen services, mobile orders, vans, mass distribution during emergency relief, and many others. After the 2004 tsunami disaster, FFL volunteers in India and Sri Lanka were the first to respond on the scene. They provided over 350,000 meals in the first few months, including clothes, water, shelter, and medical care.

Nowadays, FFL programs are still operating strongly across the world. But, in the West, this type of food distribution started to dwindle. That’s why Sankirtan Yajna Das, a disciple of Bhakti Tirtha Swamis and temple president Neela Madhava Das, a disciple of Gopal Krishna Goswami, decided to start this program here at ISKCON Baltimore. The poverty rate in the city hovers around 20%, so the need is acute. Sankirtan Yajna Das is a skilled devotee cook with years of experience, so he thought, “Well, why don’t we go out and distribute food daily.”

The initiative had its challenges. How do we efficiently deliver the food to residents across a large city? It was decided that a mobile food truck was the best means of distributing Krishna’s mercy to the people of Baltimore. Wherever it goes, it addresses the spiritual and physical hunger of its recipients, thus the name “Hunger Free Zone.” The truck exterior was a blank canvas, but the devotees painted a giant mural of Srila Prabhupada on the side of the truck along with his quote, “No one goes hungry!” We also added, “Free Vegan Food.”

When preparing the meals, we avoid foods that many people are allergic to. Then came the most important aspect—offering the food to Krishna with love. In that way, the food is sanctified and becomes prasadam. The last step is picking our location and serving the meals out of the welcoming window.

On a recent cold day, my family and I gathered up all of the containers, utensils, bags, and spoons. The pots of prasadam were fresh and hot, with a pleasant, strong aroma. Our goal is to maximize efficiency. On this day, we share one scoop of mashed potatoes, one scoop of corn, some apple crumble, and finally scoop on the piping hot “tofurkey.” We load the individual containers into bags, filling up six large crates. We ensure all of the crates are secured, take our seats, and go rolling down the highway until we arrive in the inner streets of Baltimore. Though it’s cold outside, it’s often sweltering inside the food truck. As we open the swinging door, people are already waiting outside for food. Then comes the fun part: we get to serve the people of Baltimore. We ask,” How many do you want?” or “Do you want more?” while sharing the meals, adding a water bottle to the bag. People start calling their neighbors and other friends to ask if they want some of the prasadam. Before you know it, we have shared all of the prepared meals. It’s always a bit sad, as there is a greater need than what we are sharing.

The Hunger Free Zone is trying to grow in Baltimore to serve more people. To do this, we are guided by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mission. It’s all about sharing and caring, and that’s what makes the Hunger Free Zone so strong. 

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