Soup kitchen feeds the needy, as access to food is everybody's right
The needy queue up for free vegetarian meals from a staff member of the Brahmarpanam Soup Kitchen. (Andrea Rhiannon Edmonds@FMT Lifestyle)
KUALA LUMPUR : It's about 7.30am on a bright and sunny Monday morning, and members of the Brahmarpanam Soup Kitchen are already hard at work, washing and cutting vegetables for the day.
Founded in 2024, this noble initiative located in Jalan Air Panas Baharu here, has been preparing free home-cooked vegetarian meals to be distributed to needy and underprivileged communities across the Klang Valley.
What stands out about this soup kitchen, according to coordinator Arwind Kumar, is its emphasis on healthy and high-quality food.
'Vegetarian meals can also be unhealthy if you add too much salt or preservatives. Here, we don't use onions or garlic, and all our spices are sourced from suppliers who we know are ethical,' Arwind told FMT Lifestyle.
'Our vegetables here are all from an organic farm. And everything is fresh, nothing is pre-kept here. We don't believe in that. Everything is cut and cooked on the day itself.'
The Brahmarpanam Soup Kitchen is an initiative by the Kriyalakshmi Mandir Shree Sai Gurukul Charitable Society founded by GuruMaa Annai Shree Kriyalakshmi Deviyar.
'All this is because of a single person's vision and endless determination. You just cannot put out her fire,' Arwind commented.
Brahmarpanam Soup Kitchen coordinator Arwind Kumar believes everybody has a right to food. (Andrea Rhiannon Edmonds@FMT Lifestyle)
A typical day at the kitchen starts around 7.00am, when members of the soup kitchen start work on the 600 to 1,000 meals they usually cook just in time for the lunch hour.
The meals usually consist of rice and curry, with vegetables such as spinach, cauliflower, pumpkin, long beans, carrots and capsicum.
Hygiene in the kitchen is maintained at high standards, Arwind added.
Many who work here are family members of students from a nearby school, also run by the Kriyalakshmi Mandir Shree Sai Gurukul Charitable Society.
Arwind said this was a good way to help underserved members of the community, while equipping volunteers with useful kitchen skills that could help them with employment later.
'Besides, who knows better about home cooking than mothers themselves?' Arwind quipped.
He added that members were encouraged to mix things up and add variety in what they cooked: their mission is to make vegetarian meals fun and interesting.
The soup kitchen maintains a high standard of hygiene and safety at all times. Andrea Rhiannon Edmonds@FMT Lifestyle)
Once cooked, the food is packed, and transported by van to various locations all over the region.
The kitchen has a list of about 40-50 locations they often visit, including homes and houses of worship. They also serve the marginalised, including migrant workers and members of the transgender community.
Arwind commented that there were many other organisations in the Klang Valley who wished to carry out similar acts of charity. However, they were bound or restricted by bureaucracy.
'By the time you complete background checks, people are already starving to death. Our idea is not to judge or decide who deserves to eat. GuruMaa's idea is if you need food, come and take it,' Arwind stressed.
'It shocks us in this day and age, there are still school students who don't have enough money to get something to eat. And we hope we can contribute towards ending this problem. Food is a right, not a privilege.'
Currently, the soup kitchen only serves meals during the lunch hour, but they hope to expand the scope of their operations in the future.
Brahmarpanam Soup Kitchen staff pack the day's food, under the watch of (left) founder GuruMatha Annai Shree Kriyalakshmi Deviyar. (Andrea Rhiannon Edmonds@FMT Lifestyle)
For Arwind and staff members of the soup kitchen, knowing they have helped to feed someone and make their community a little bit better is the most rewarding part of their efforts.
He emphasised that you don't need to operate on a big scale to create positive change: just start small, and the ripple effect will take care of the rest.
'We did not start this kitchen off this big. We started feeding 10, 20, about 30 people. You don't need to assume that to do things like this, you have to immediately jump the gun and feed 500 people,' Arwind said.
'If you can just cook for your neighbour who's in need, you're on the right path, you're doing the work already!'
Brahmarpanam Soup Kitchen
68, Jalan Ayer Panas Baharu
Taman Ayer Panas
53200 Kuala Lumpur
Follow the Brahmarpanam Soup Kitchen on Instagram.
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