Kids Doing Good: Greenville Diwali Food Drive incorporates Hindu heritage into giving
We are driven by a single goal: to do our part in making the world a better place. We strive to make Greenville hunger free in the spirit of Diwali.
Greenville Diwali Food Drive
The mission statement of Greenville Diwali Food Drive is a noble one, but those who see the organization’s website or social media may not realize that it is an effort spearheaded by teens. It was started in 2017 by middle school students Rishita Tikkala, Neha Vallabhaneni, Sarayu Bethi, and Lathika Chaluvadi.
“I co-founded it with three of my childhood friends,” Bethi, now a senior at Christ Church Episcopal School, said. “We were in seventh grade and we kind of wanted a project, something to do in our free time. We wanted to give back to our community.”
The friends had already served to meet other needs through Harvest Hope and Loaves and Fishes, so a project related to relieving food insecurity seemed like a natural fit. Very quickly, their mothers were also on board and encouraging them to organize a food drive through the Vedic Center in Greenville.
“We use the spirit of Diwali because Diwali is a giving holiday,” Bethi said. “The whole spirit of it is to give back. It's the Festival of Lights, so we want to use our roots, our Hindu heritage and incorporate that into a service opportunity.”
Each fall, the project culminates with a food drive, but it has grown to include events throughout the year, including a spring plant sale, sales of microgreens, painting events and more.
“Our first year, we planned a 5K run at Conestee,” Bethi said.
That event supported Harvest Hope Food Bank and resulted in 500 pounds of food donations.
“We had a bunch of people in the Indian Association in Greenville, they all came out and supported,” she said. “They brought nonperishable goods, some people made monetary donations, so we used those monetary donations and went to Costco and bought canned food, toilet paper, diapers to give Harvest Hope.”
In 2018, the amount jumped to 4,000 pounds. It doubled to 8,000 pounds in 2019.
“2020 was our pandemic year and most of our donations were monetary. We had about $5,500 in monetary donations,” Bethi said.
Live events returned and grew the organization in 2021. This year, the events also included a 5K Women’s Saree Walk/Run on the Swamp Rabbit Trail in September and a plant sale at India Day in August, with proceeds supporting local food banks.
It started with a small project, but the Greenville Diwali Food Drive is now a sustainable organization that will carry on after its founders leave for college.
“We've been friends for the longest time, so every single year has been us four and we've kind of added some other teenagers along the way,” Bethi said.
As she prepares to head off to college next fall, Bethi hopes to take the spirit of service with her and serve locally as well, spreading this commitment beyond Greenville.
“I would also want to continue a service project in college as well, maybe a club or something small like that, because I do really love service in general,” she said. “I'm just glad that we were able to continue with this in our senior year and just strive to make Greenville a hunger free area, and in general, make the world a better place and inspire others.”
The Greenville Diwali Food Drive will accept food and monetary donations at a community event at the Vedic Center in November. The date and details will be announced at Greenville Diwali Food Drive on Facebook and at instagram.com/greenvillediwalifooddrive. Learn more at greenvillediwalifooddrive.com.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville Diwali Food Drive started by four middle school student
