"Not like a regular flood": Sikh volunteers serve 2000 meals a day to worst affected areas on MNC

A week ago, a small group from Sikh Volunteers Australia traveled more than 20 hours – over 1500 kilometres from Melbourne – to the most-affected areas of the Mid North Coast following the recent record-breaking flood.

The group is known to travel to natural disaster zones across the country, providing free meals to those in need.

CEO Jaswinder Singh has seen the devastation of floods, fires and storms firsthand over the years. He told the Mid North Coaster this recent event was “not like a regular flood.”

“This is something different – the scale and in the end the way it has happened, it’s completely unexplainable to me.”

Selfless service from Sikh volunteers

The Sikh Volunteers left Melbourne on route to Taree on May 23 with a mobile kitchen.

Their mission – to reach affected areas and provide free hot meals, support, and compassion where needed most. 

They say it is in the spirit of Sewa – selfless service.

Singh explained how each day had played out for the past week: waking up at 4am at temporary accommodation in Newcastle before driving two hours to Taree to start cooking.

The group of volunteers travel from Taree, Wingham, Cundletown, Oxley Island and make their way a further two hours to Kempsey – all in one day. The mobile kitchen is set up in carparks as well as evacuation and recovery centres to serve the local community, volunteers, and emergency services staff.

Earlier this week, the SES also picked up meals to deliver by helicopter.

Singh said he travels 300 to 400 kilometres during his 18 to 20 hour days of volunteer work.

Up to 2000 meals a day

On the second day, the volunteers served 1500 meals. That number has now grown to 1700 to 2000 per day, and with the demand still high, Singh said the group is not sure when they will be leaving.

“As long as people are requesting it, we will stay. We’re not raised to just go away, we don't do that, so we will stay as long as we need to,” Singh said.

The volunteers cook four to six batches of vegetarian food per day. “That’s a lot, believe me. It’s about 150 kilograms of solid groceries alone so you can imagine at what scale we are consuming the supplies,” Singh said.

The group will continue to focus on the area where the help is most needed.

“This is something different”: comparing the 2025 flood to previous disasters

This is the third time Singh has toured the Mid North Coast during a disaster.

He visited with the non-profit volunteer organisation during the 2021 floods and the 2022 bushfires. He also traveled to Lismore after the devastating 2023 floods, and serviced Victoria after the 2024 floods. But Singh said none of those events compared to the recent floods on the Mid North Coast.

The widespread devastation – and the amount of mud – stood out.

“This is something different – the scale and in the end, the way it has happened, it’s completely unexplainable to me,” Singh said.

“It’s not like a regular flood.”

Singh said that the last two floods in the region did not result in the amount of mud as this time.

“I don't know what has happened, how this has happened? It’s too much mud. It was not like before.”

“So many streets this year have water and the level of the water is not like a flood, it’s like a tsunami.

“How can this happen? How much rain has fallen in those five, six days from the sky? What the hell has happened here?”

Severe weather becoming more intense

This month, the Climate Council warned natural disasters are occurring with increasing frequency and ferocity, fuelled by the consequences of pollution from coal, oil and gas.

As the climate heats up globally, the atmosphere holds more moisture, causing extreme downpours to become more common. The total amount of water vapour in the atmosphere reached a record value in 2024. 

Earlier this year, climate scientist David Karoly told the Mid North Coaster to address the increase in extreme rainfall, the country needs to transition to renewable energy and put a stop to Australia exporting coal and fossil gas, which contribute to higher emissions in other countries.

On Monday, Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese said that while not every weather event can be put down to climate change, floods and droughts in Australia are becoming “more frequent and more intense.”

“There's been communities that have been uprooted,” he said. “For some of them, it's not the first time, and we're reminded as well of the need to look at the impact and cost of climate change.”

“The human-to-human connection is very strong in this area”

Singh has noticed the strong community connection following the disaster.

“All the way from Wingham to Kempsey, people are very strong…People are looking after each other, they are carrying each other.”

He spoke of people helping their neighbours – cleaning others’ homes and businesses, not just their own.

“The human to human connection is very strong in this area, the spirit is very strong and from my experience I can say this is pretty much true for the whole of regional Australia.”

“The regional people, they're pretty open, they’re very warm, they're very welcoming, and at the same time they are very supportive to each other as well.”

How you can help

The volunteers are going through supplies rapidly. 

The Mid North Coaster was told by Saturday morning, May 31, the group may be in need of further grocery donations. You can check the Sikh Volunteers Australia Facebook page to see what is requested.

Those in Taree and surrounding areas can drop off food donations to Taree Bunnings.

The volunteers have limited storage, so please check the Facebook page for what they need and when.

Singh said the group is running “short on finance” because they are using a generator, gas bottles, and fueling two vans twice a day. 

If you would like to donate money, you can do so here.