Students serve free meal to community at Langar on Campus

400 guests visited the Students' Union this February to join in the Sikh tradition of Langar, a community kitchen serving up free food. 

On 13 February the Students' Union hosted a special annual event, Langar on Campus.  

Langar on Campus is annual event, now in its seventh year at the University of Wolverhampton, run as a joint venture between the Sikh Society, local community organisations and the British Organisation of Sikh Students (BOSS). This year, it was held in the SU's social space, The Den.

Langar is the offering of a free communal meal, which is a demonstration of the Sikh practice of Seva, selfless service to others.

The vegetarian food was cooked in a local gurdwara by volunteers including students from the Sikh Society and was served to over 400 guests from the University and wider Community, including VIPs Vice-Chancellor Professor Ebrahim Adia, and Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Prashant Pillai (pictured with SU colleagues.)

Everyone is welcomed to join in the langar tradition, to share a meal together, and to embrace the cultural practices and values which are fundamental qualities of Sikhism.  All guests are offered the same food, served in a buffet system, and everyone sits on the floor, representing humility and equality. Guests are asked to remove their shoes, wash their hands, and cover their hair as a mark of respect. 

In the above video, Opeyemi Adeyemi, the Students' Union Vice-President for Diversity, and the Gurpreet Kaur, President of the Sikh Society, introduce the Langar on Campus and the SU's values of promoting diversity and equality within the University community.  

Opeyemi said: "As an SU, what we do is promote a sense of belonging as our core value. We are here to respect, embrace and make sure that everybody feels involved in the University of Wolverhampton Students' Union." 

Gurpreet explains the purpose of langar: "What we try and represent in our religion is equality and oneness, and compassion. 

"One of the things that we represent with the Langar is "Vand ke Chakna" which means "to share what we have", and this is part of what we do in our community, to give to the vulnerable and anyone that's in need of it, regardless of caste, creed, and who they are." 

The SU would like to thank the Sikh Society, the British Organisation of Sikh Students, and the local community and everyone who attended.

Nirmla Devi, CEO of the Students' Union said: "I would like to extend our thanks to Ebrahim and Prashant for attending. We were thrilled with the event. There was a lovely atmosphere and it’s wonderful bringing all communities together, students and staff alike. Although we have held the langar many times before it’s the first time we have done it in our new refurbished space and it added something special."