Inside a low, brick-red building in Queens Village, a group of about 30 cooks has made and served more than 145,000 free meals in just 10 weeks. They arrive at 4 a.m. three days a week to methodically assemble vast quantities of basmati rice, dal, beans and vibrantly flavored sabzis for New York City hospital workers, people in poverty and anyone else in search of a hot meal.

This isn’t a soup kitchen or a food bank. It’s a gurdwara, the place of worship for Sikhs, members of the fifth-largest organized religion in the world, with about 25 million adherents....

Volunteers at a Sikh temple in Glen Rock are following a tradition at the root of the religion, preparing meals in their community kitchen just as they did before the pandemic. Only now the meals are to go, given to senior citizens, families in need and anyone else who wants them.

Hundreds of free vegetarian meals are handed out each week to people who come to a drive-through pickup at the temple, known as a gurdwaran. The meals are available Fridays and Sundays, when services were held before the pandemic lock down.

Preparing meals and...

KP Singh with Denver’s Sikh Gurudwara is spending much of his time at home with a headset on. He speaks on the phone with people who are searching for things like groceries and other goods.

“Some people (need) medical equipment,” he said. “Some lady actually called us that she had to go to a food bank so we had to arrange an Uber drive for her.”

Normally the Gurudwara, a Sikh house of worship, has a community kitchen. Once a...

If you know anything about Sikhism, this news will not surprise you. If you don't, you're about to learn about a religion with a long history of humanitarianism. 

Sewa, or "selfless service" is a way of life for Sikhs. It means helping others with no expectation of anything in return or hope of gain in any way. Through sewa, Sikhs demonstrate the equality of all people, show love and respect towards others, and protect themselves from selfish vices.  ...