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The Sikh community have been handing out free food in the city centre as part of International Langar Week.

Lucky shoppers enjoyed samosas, chickpea curry and drinks yesterday, and learnt about Langar Week.

The event was organised by the students of the Liverpool Sikh society and award winning hunger relief charity Guru Nanak’s Free Kitchen.

For those who missed out, here is our guide to Langar week.

What is langar?

Langar is free vegetarian food which is served in Sikh temple - Gurdwara - kitchens every day. It is offered by every single Gurdwara in the world, with 10,000 meals provided in the UK per week and six million every day across the world.

Can anyone have langar?

Everyone is welcome to enjoy langar regardless of their faith, gender, age or status.

Is it new?

Not at all. Langar has been around for over 500 years, having been started by the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It is said that when he was a child, his father gave him some money to trade on the market. On the way to the market he saw hungry people, and decided the greatest profit he could make would be to feed them.

Why are they holding langar week?

Langar Week is a global campaign which aims to raise awareness of the free food service. With 1m people using food banks in the UK, the Sikh community believe it is not as well known about as it should be.

How is it funded?

Langar is funded completely by donations and volunteers. In many towns and cities there will be teams of Sikhs who go out and distribute the langar to those who need it most.