Food for Life Standards

Cleanliness of Mind and Body

With roots in India’s Vedic culture, the Food for Life program was founded on the highest standards of purity in mind and body.

Food for Life prides itself on the quality of food we serve. Not only is the food healthy for the body, but we strongly believe it is spiritually nourishing as well. How so? Because all food prepared by our trained volunteers is done with the conviction that food is a conveyor of the most subtle energy – our thoughts and feelings, and is therefore a conduit for expressing our sincere love and concern for the people we serve. Furthermore, since all food is a gift from the earth, it is imperative that our head cooks first make an offering of the meal to God before it is served to the public. The thought energy that goes into a meal is just as important as the physical ingredients.

With the greatest respect and care, therefore, Food for Life volunteers gather ingredients and prepare food knowing that the first sample of the meal they will prepare will be purified by mantras (prayer). The standards for offering a sample of the meal can vary according to time, place and personal preference. There is no restriction in offering the sample meal to any bona-fide form of God (Krishna, Christ, Allah, Buddha, Jehovah, etc.)

Rules of Conduct

• All Food for Life volunteers must adhere to the following rules of conduct while engaged in service with Food for Life:
• No consumption of any food in the kitchen;
• No smoking or consumption of alcohol;
• No use of bad language, or playing of offensive music;
• No inappropriate clothing is to be worn in the service area;
• Only vegan meals will be served to volunteers;
• No consumption of meat, fish or eggs is allowed in the dining area

More details of FFL’s standards of contact can be found in the FFL Volunteer Handbook (PDF).