Social

Mother's Kitchen

Circle of Love

Feeding the Poor

Housing

Orphanage

Monthly Pension

Satsanga Samiti

Older Care Homes

Speech and Hearing

Legal Cell

Earthquake Relief

 Medical

 Educational

 Spiritual

 Nature

 Get Involved

Home  >  Humanitarian Activities  >  Social  >  Mothers Kitchen

Mother's Kitchen - It's birth in the west

How it began
How can I participate in my local area
How can I start Mother's kitchen in my area

As of today Mother's Kitchen serves 72,000 free meals every year
(This statistics is updated on Jan 2007).

Children, love the poor wholeheartedly. Go to their level. Believe that it is your dharma, your God-given duty to love and serve the poor. No matter how rich we are, as long as we are not prepared to be compassionate towards the poor, we are truly living in utter poverty. Such people are the true destitutes in the eyes of God. It is no use lighting a lamp before God and making offerings in the temple if you do not care to provide some light to the unlit hovels of the poor. We should love them and we should serve them. Without this, no amount of meditation we may do will bestow on us the bliss of meditation. It is kindness and service to others that imparts the sweetness of meditation.

---Amma

How it began

Mother emphasized the importance of having the devotees prepare the food themselves and serve the needy directly. One of the servers noticed that those who came for food, even the most hardened face would soften. A new light would glimmer in their eyes as they felt the warmth and compassion that provided them with a much needed meal. It was evident that the souls needed nourishment as much if not more than their bodies. Satsangs in Houston, Texas and Seattle, Washington have also begun cooking and serving meals to the poor. In some areas Amma's admirers are beginning by regularly joining the efforts of an already established free meal service, hoping to expand their meal programs as support grows.

When Amma first mentioned her dream of feeding the poor, she also spoke of the future shelters for the homeless and the elderly. This prompted a group of devotees to investigate shelters in the Bay Area. Stunned by the environments, they began to realize the depth of Mother's awareness of the great need. There were stark rooms devoid of love. Children would huddle together crying in the corner of a room with just a bed for furnishing. There were no toys for them and no sense of belonging. Whether the condition of the poor is due to their karma or not, we feel that the best attitude is to accept their need as our own. The M.A.Center is deeply commited to this new project and invites those who are interested in making donations of time, money or labor to join us in this service to humankind.

Here are some of the experiences of two of the younger helpers who served at Mother's Kitchen in the Seattle satsang:

" On March 2nd I decided to go to downtown Seattle to help out to at the homeless shelter to serve food to the homeless. When I got there I helped cut fruit and set out the food. Then homeless people started coming in, and I served them fruit and washed up their mess after they ate. To tell you the truth, they were very nice people who appreciated what we were doing for them. After they had all eaten and left we cleaned up and headed back home. While I was sitting in the car I thought about the weekend before when I went to a fancy brunch, and realized I had enjoyed myself more this weekend, where I helped out at the homeless shelter!"

--Cher, age 13

" When my parents suggested me and my brother helping out in the Mother's Kitchen I was worried, especially that I'll have to be there for at least five hours. But once we went there, the time just flew away. It was fun grating cheese, serving bread for the first time, I saw all those people who couldn't afford a decent meal, and I'm so glad that I was a part of Amma's kitchen helping to provide food. And I like this program because it's a great way to show what selfless service is - which is what Amma talks about all the time. I'm going to be there again."

--Nitish, age 10

Mother's Kitchen Project is active in 38 cities, feeding the poor and homeless. Organized and supported entirely by Amma devotees, meals are being served in 23 U. S. states and 2 in Canada.

How can I participate - Below are the list of contacts for each region

Some of the programs offer hot vegetarian meals on a monthly, bimonthly or weekly basis. For example, hot meals are served in Rockville twice a month and in New York City once a month. The San Ramon Mother's Kitchen serving Oakland prepares and cooks a hot meal once a month and makes a sandwich bag-lunch once a month. The Oakland soup kitchen feeds about 120 persons per day, 75% of whom are homeless.

Other Mother's Kitchens across the country prepare sandwiches and bag lunches, such as the programs in Los Angeles, Houston, Austin, and Santa Fe, and they distribute these on downtown streets or in local parks where the homeless gather. Mother's Kitchen Projects in Norman and in Dallas prepare a meal at the homeless shelter itself, and the Dallas group have received the 'Shining Star' award from the shelter's administrators.

Those who receive Amma's meals are grateful. In Santa Fe, one person said, "I really appreciate and thank you for all your efforts each week. Things got really bad for me, and I have had no way to eat. I really look forward to Sundays because these burritos are the best meal I get all week."

All Mother's Kitchen Project volunteers agree that cooking and serving these meals is true satsang. Devotee Adarsa Whitney states, "Serving with Mother's Kitchen is so much fun! And I feel Mother's Love so strongly! It's very uplifting!' Nitish, age 10, of the Seattle satsang, said, "I like this program because it's a great way to show what selfless service is - which is what our dearest Amma talks about all the time. I'm going to be there again."

Mothers Kitchen programs are present in California, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Costa Rica, Maryland / Washington D.C., Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Washington, Wisconsin, Michigan and Colorado.

How to Start A New Mother's Kitchen

If you are interested in starting a Mother's Kitchen Project in your area, just follow the guidelines listed below:

1) Become involved in your local Ammachi satsang, and connect with others who may wish to join in with your Mother's Kitchen Project effort.

2) As Mother has advised us, find a need in your local area where you can 'plug in' with Mother's Kitchen Project. Perhaps an on-going Soup Kitchen will welcome your taking responsibility for one meal per month. Perhaps there is a local Women's Shelter that could use help with one or more meals per month. The possibilities are endless! Find the list of Mother's Kitchen Projects currently feeding the hungry across U.S. tabulated above

3) When you have a team of committed volunteers, and you've found a place to plug in, get back in touch with us, and we'll be happy to help you in any way we can - with recipes, talking things over, answering your questions (if we can), and helping you in any way we can.

4) Donations to cover the cost of Mother's Kitchen Project should be raised from donations by local devotees. You can establish a fund for your Kitchen Project and then donations can be mailed to M.A. Center, PO Box 613, San Ramon, CA 94538-0613 - be sure to ear-mark the check for your LOCAL Mother's Kitchen Project, eg. "Bay Area," "New York" or "Madison", etc. Or else, you can just collect your funds and go shopping. Sometimes the devotees just donate some portion of the meals they've shopped for.

5) Costs can be kept down by asking local bakeries, supermarkets and other food sources for donations or discounts. Many communities offer Food Banks where large quantities of produce and prepackaged foods can be purchased cheaply. Also, local farmer's markets are a good source for food and shopping.

6) For more information about Mother's Kitchen Project, how to start or join a Project, call or email Kasturi108@yahoo.com at 510-524-6686.

Again, a warm welcome to Mother's Kitchen Project!

Account from Denver

Account from Rockville

Other such projects