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SevaTruck marks 10 years of service in Virginia
The anniversary event included community participation, with volunteers supporting meal distribution and activities for children.
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Staff Reporter - Tue, 21, Apr 2026
- 03:33 EDT
- 22
Top left: Sonny Kakar, CEO of SevaTruck Foundation, bottom right: Surinder Singh, operations and development manager at SevaTruck / New India Abroad
SevaTruck Foundation recently marked ten years of service, providing free hot vegetarian meals to students in underserved communities, with a milestone event held at Braddock Elementary School in Annandale, Virginia.
Founded in 2016, the organization operates food trucks that serve Title I schools, defined as schools in socioeconomically challenged areas. The program focuses on providing meals to students after school hours, when access to food can be uncertain.
ALSO READ: JJ Singh lauds Seva Truck's contributions
Sonny Kakar, CEO of SevaTruck Foundation, in comments to New India Abroad said the organization currently supports about 20 schools in the Washington, D.C., region, delivering meals daily. At Braddock Elementary alone, the foundation serves between 300 and 400 meals each day after school.
“Once the kids get done with school, many of these kids are, it's uncertain whether they'll get an evening meal, and so we provide them a hot meal here,” he said. “They go back into school, and they get all kinds of developmental support.”
Over the past decade, SevaTruck has served approximately 700,000 meals, with current operations reaching about 125,000 meals annually. Meals are prepared at a nearby commissary and distributed to schools and community sites.
Surinder Singh, operations and development manager, said the organization has consistently served 250 to 300 meals daily at Braddock Elementary during after-school programs over the past ten years. Additional services include about 200 meals daily at Bailey’s Elementary School and up to 400 meals for community centers and partner organizations.
“This is a seva which started by Sanik and Seema Kakar back in 10 years ago with the same thinking of seva that is needed in the community more than at our gurdwaras,” Singh said.
He said the program was designed to extend the concept of community meals beyond traditional religious settings and into neighborhoods where need is greatest.
“Gurdwara langar is good. but at the same time, we needed to take the meal outside where the most need is,” Singh said. “They came up with the idea of food truck that could go around and serve the communities where they are.”
The anniversary event included community participation, with volunteers supporting meal distribution and activities for children.
Kakar said the program’s success relies on partnerships with local school systems, including Fairfax and Montgomery counties, as well as support from teachers, parents and community members.
“It does take a partnership,” he said. “We're grateful for the partnerships that we have… as well as the teachers, the parents, and the principal that helped make this program successful.”
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