On November 17, the Food for Life Foundation reached a truly historic milestone. On the occasion of Budapest’s 150th anniversary, our foundation’s director, Attila Szanyi-Karl (Bhakta Vatszala Dásza), received the “For Budapest” award from Mayor Gergely Karácsony. Attila Szanyi-Karl has been a practicing Krishna devotee since his youth; he lived as a monk in Krishna Valley and has been the foundation’s director for a decade. He is primarily active at the Budapest center and works to fulfill the wish of Srila Prabhupada, the founder of the Krishna-conscious movement, that there be no starving people anywhere in the world—or at least not within a 15-kilometer radius of the various spiritual centers!
Attila Szanyi-Karl accepted this award on behalf of the entire “Food for Life” organization, and as he put it, this humanitarian program is a collective achievement of all its current and former active members.
Food for Life is an integral part of Budapest. In fact, the foundation distributes 2,000 hot meals a day to the needy in the capital alone, along with other food items, giving hope to thousands of our fellow citizens in need. But the real celebration is just beginning—this year marks the 35th annual Christmas Feast of Love in the capital. From December 24 to 26, over the course of three days, the staff and volunteers of Food for Life will once again welcome those in need with 1,000 meals a day and a generous holiday food package.
We appreciate this recognition, and we extend our warmest congratulations to Attila Szanyi-Karl on this award and on his exemplary, often superhuman, and self-sacrificing work. Thank you, Budapest—you can continue to count on us!