Sikhs in Scotland’s Aberdeen city have teamed up with local oil and gas workers to provide food to the region’s less fortunate.

The “small but passionate” Sikh community of the northeast region set up a Christmas food bank at the Seaton Community Education Centre in Aberdeen to help some of the city’s most deprived people, the Aberdeen Press and Journal reported citing organiser Mandeep Singh Khalsa.

The 28-year-old consultant said the food bank brought the Sikh community one step closer to setting up a “langar” – a common kitchen and canteen for all – in the region.

Khalsa, a Indian British from London, said: “The Sikh community in Aberdeen is quite small but full of passion. We haven’t got a Sikh temple at the moment, but everybody’s a good cook, all of our wives and myself, we cook quite well. Even without a temple we thought we would do a curry around Aberdeen.

He said the food donations were gathered with help from John Welsh of Wood Group for the festival.

“I contacted the guys at Wood Group about a food bank. We want to do this every month,” her said.

“There’s going to be about 10-15 of us getting together every month. We are hoping to get a liaison as well with the council.

“We hope to show there’s no difference between people in India and the UK. We should be blind to colour, race, religion and any other difference – we’re all the same, and love Santa.”

Tea, coffee, sugar and oatmeal were among the food items donated, along with baby food, milk and nappies for parents struggling to make ends meet this Christmas.

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