So there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Last Wednesday I went down to the Food For All Centre in King’s Cross to investigate whether that really is true. The Food For All Centre is run by a group of Hare Krishnas. They want to end hunger, among other things. So they’ll feed you and hope that being given a free meal affects you in a positive way. Which is really quite trusting of them.



This is Peter O’Grady. Nineteen years ago he jacked in the punk-band lifestyle to join a rural Irish farm community with no electricity and become a Hare Krishna. He now coordinates the Food For All programme but still expresses his love of music through weekly jam sessions at the centre. Also on offer at the centre are cookery and yoga classes, as well as free internet access and computer training.

According to the Krishna Consciousness UK website one of their goals is: "To establish massive free prasadam distribution programmes all over the world, so that all beings are adequately nourished with Krishna prasadam, and there shall be no unnecessary hunger anywhere."

Krishna prasadam is food that has been sanctified through dedication to Krishna. So what kind of stuff do they serve? The menu varies all the time, depending on what food they’ve received that week. Peter has successfully cultivated relationships with well known food suppliers like Sainsbury’s, Natco and Alara Wholefoods, who make posh organic muesli with expensive superfoody stuff like goji berries and cacao nibs in it.



The food is given away because it’s close to its display-by date or has been mis-labelled, and would otherwise end up in landfill. They insist that there have never been any health scares as, bar the dried pulses and grains, all the ingredients are fresh and vegetarian. Highlights when I was there were fresh pomegranates and Taste the Difference tomatoes, as well as Yumberry, a super-juice which retails at £2.09 a litre. There were also cloves, star anise and fresh coriander in the lentils.

Not only do they use top quality ingredients, they even bake cakes and flapjacks, which, unsurprisingly, go down a treat with the public.

A team of four cooks is up at the crack of dawn six days a week, preparing meals at their headquarters near Watford - a farm bought for them by George Harrison in 1973. Their industriousness feeds 600 people weekly, Monday to Saturday. On Sunday they rest.



In the day-glo orange jacket, is 32-year old Rob. He used to work in recruitment, earning £35,000 a year. After a chance meeting with the Hare Krishnas at Glastonbury six years ago he gave it all up to become a devotee and travel the country on a bicycle. See www.pedalytra.com.

They drive the food to the centre in their van, where it is loaded into rickshaws which deliver it to the hungry. They used to serve food at their centre in Camden but neighbours complained about the hoards of ‘undesirables’ that descended on the place and the Hare’s were forced to relocate.

What type of degenerates are they serving then? Well, in accordance with their founder’s decree - ‘vulnerable people’ such as the homeless, jobless and those on low incomes (students included). The rickshaws pay regular visits to LSE and SOAS.



Surely some people (e.g. students) take the piss and try to take loads of food though? Apparently, surprisingly few. But even if they did Peter claims it wouldn’t matter as the food nourishes not only on a physical but also a spiritual level, which ultimately results in a love of Krishna.

So nobody is ever refused food? Not even if they’re smartly attired and refill their plate five times? Not even if they have a huge bag of Krispy Kreme doughnuts in one hand? Nope. The Hare Krishnas believe that the food’s spirituality eventually, by something akin to osmosis, enters the greedy bugger’s soul and affects positive change in him/her. So they don’t feel taken advantage of and gladly offer food to all and sundry.

Humbled and impressed by this string-free altruism, I thanked Peter for his time and for the delicious lunch, and headed over to York Way to check out the action on the ground at the food van. I had hoped to chat with members of the public gratefully chowing down, but was generally met with hostility and even received threats of litigation. It seems that those in receipt of the free lunch we are taught not to believe in, are among society’s least trusting people.




Finally, you might be wondering why they don’t serve food when the pubs kick out? Peter assures me that toppling the reign of the kebab shops does indeed form part of their plan... but for now, get it while it’s hot Mon-Sat afternoons at…

Kentish Town, 12:00h -12:55
Caversham Road, beside Barclays Bank

Camden Town, 13:00 -13:50
Inverness Street, beside veg market

Kings Cross, 14:00 - 14:30
York Way, beside train station

Hungry? See http://www.iskcon.org.uk/ffl/

Food For All, 102 Caledonian Road, Kings Cross, London, N1
For more information or to get involved, ring Peter on 07946 420 827