Our Events
What We Do:
The Diwali Basket Brigade is an annual event organised by The Diwali Foundation, which has been running since 2018. It is a community initiative run and funded on donations by local volunteers.
Diwali is one of the most popular Hindu festivals, and founder Deepak Parekh, started Diwali Basket Brigade as a way for the community to give back at this auspicious time.
The objective of Diwali Basket Brigade is simple. To provide food hampers to socially deprived / vulnerable households, from all faiths and backgrounds in and around the UK, ahead of the auspicious festival of Diwali.
The hampers are packed and personally delivered by a group of over 200 volunteers. The event organisers work closely with charities, councils, schools and various other organisations to identify the recipient families, thereby ensuring that those in most need of support benefit from the initiative.
The food hampers include vegetarian food items, and comprise both perishable (e.g. fruit and vegetables) and non- perishable food items (e.g. tinned soup, rice, pasta, pulses etc). We also provide meal recipes in each hamper providing the recipient family with a nutritious meal plan, all of which can be cooked with the food ingredients provided in the hamper.
Our event in 2019 was supported by 218 volunteers, including 60 drivers, who hand delivered the food hampers. The event was also graced with attendance of Lord-Lieutenant John Crabtree and his wife Diana, Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street and Consul General of India, Dr Aman Puri.
At this event a staggering 7 tonnes of food (which amounted to 31,587 individual food items) were packed into 525 hampers.
Diwali Basket Brigade 2018
On 3rd November 2018, the inaugural Diwali Basket Brigade event was held at the Balaji Temple in Tividale, Birmingham. 330 food hampers were lovingly created by a team of 110 community volunteers of all ages preparing and packing food hampers and then personally delivering them to vulnerable/socially deprived households from all faiths and backgrounds head of the Diwali. In total we raised £6,500 which enabled 16,512 individual items of food to be packed – just over 3 tonnes!
Diwali Basket Brigade 2019
Our event in 2019 was supported by 218 volunteers, including 60 drivers, who hand delivered the food hampers. The event was also graced with attendance of Lord-Lieutenant John Crabtree and his wife Diana, Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street and Consul General of India, Dr Aman Puri.
At this event a staggering 7 tonnes of food (which amounted to 31,587 individual food items) were packed into 525 hampers.
Diwali Basket Brigade 2020
Our 2020 event was held virtually, on 7th November 2020. We worked with a number of food banks and charities across the UK, who helped to distribute the food bags to socially deprived and vulnerable families in need.
Whilst we could not replicate event’s from previous years, we felt it was even more important to do something, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the extreme poverty that many families were facing.
We delivered over 2000 bags, each of which included non-perishable food items, a handmade Diwali card, essential toiletries, hand gel, and a small electric diya (light).
The 2020 Diwali Basket Brigade event was held in loving memory of Jayantibhai Parekh who sadly lost his life to Covid-19 on March 30th 2020. He was a dedicated volunteer at our previous events and a huge supporter of what we do. He will be missed dearly by the entire DBB community.
Diwali Basket Brigade 2021
Diwali Basket Brigade 2022
Our 2022 event held on 22nd October 2022, simultaneously across 3 UK cities – Birmingham, London & Manchester. This was our momentous 5th year running where we raised over £25,000 and were able to hold 3 in-person events, where volunteers came together to pack and assemble the hampers.
We worked with several charity partners and food banks across the UK, who were able to distribute out the hampers to individuals and families in need.
We delivered over 3000 bags, each of which included non-perishable food items, toiletries and household items and a handmade Diwali card.
We were inundated with support from the local community and were oversubscribed with volunteers.
Our 2023 event will be held on 4th and 5th of November where we hope to build on the work we have achieved so far and help feed as many people as possible.
If you would like to donate, please follow our fundraising link to help us provide hampers for vulnerable families
