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.