Fresh Food, Selfless Service in Jersey City, USA

In September 2025, the Sri Sathya Sai Center of Jersey City launched a weekly fresh produce distribution at the North Bergen Public Library in partnership with the Coalition for Food and Health Equity. It was originally envisioned by Ms. Sai Lakshmi Rao, Director of the North Bergen Public Library and a member of the local Sai Center, to offer food bags to the first 100 attendees at the SSSIO health fair marking Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s 100th Birthday. But the idea had quietly stalled until, just two days before the fair, the Coalition called the library unprompted, asking them to set up a produce stand. Since then, fresh vegetables from local New Jersey farms have been distributed every Thursday, a day the Coalition’s founder, Dr. Leeja Carter, chose without knowing its importance for Sai devotees

When asked how she provides such abundance week after week, Dr. Carter’s reply said it all: “God provides.” Two to three Sai volunteers continue to support each distribution, arranging home deliveries for those unable to attend and donating leftover produce to a local shelter.