An affordable and healthy alternative for students
Krishna Lunch started in 1971 at the University of Florida and in 2009 at Santa Fe College and at both schools it is a very successful program. The main focus of the Krishna Lunch team is to serve karma free, wholesome food at an affordable price to students. They value team work, service, relationships, and kindness. I feel that volunteering with them helped me develop these same values.
Krishna Lunch at UF
I volunteered with the Krishna Lunch at the University of Florida for a little over two years, and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life.
On an average day, we would serve between 700 and 1000 plates of food to UF students daily.
One would think that once you are out there serving so many plates of food, that you won’t get to interact at all with the students or that it is a somewhat impersonal service. However I found this to be quite the opposite and I befriended many of the students that came to the Krishna Lunch, and till this day I am in contact with some off them.
Krishna Lunch at SF
At Santa Fe College, Krishna Lunch is a little smaller, but has the same values and goals as the program at UF. Personally, I feel that having to serve less students helps a closer relationship develop between the servers and students and staff members much faster than it does over at UF.
I volunteered at the SF Krishna Lunch for eight months. I helped with serving, setting up and dismantling the stand afterwards. My main service, however, was social media management. I took photos and posted them on our Instagram and Facebook pages and I encouraged people to interact with the posts and to come volunteer.
Volunteering here was always such a good experience and what learned while helping at the Krishna Lunch helped me with my Chinese Club management and organization.
What Krishna lunch means to students
A while ago, I interviewed some students by asking them two questions. The first question was: What does Krishna Lunch mean to you? The second question was: What is the thing you like most about Krishna Lunch?
For the first question, most of the answers were basically the same. They answered that it is a community that has opened their arms to to the students, that they are the best lunch on campus, and the cheapest healthiest option food-wise on campus.
Answers to my second question where usually something like: "The salad dressing is my life!" "The music slaps!" "The people serving are a vibe!" "My favorite is definitely the halava!"
Being able to a part of something so loving and welcoming was an amazing experience and if I am given the chance would probably do it again.