‘Winning hearts’ through a family-run mobile food bank

Posted on February 9, 2024 in Vital Victoria Podcast

Fateh Care means “winning hearts by caring.” And that’s exactly what Harjas Singh Popli and Dr. Navneet Kaur Popli aim to do by delivering food, clothing and other necessities to people in need, through their family-fun mobile food bank called the Fateh Care Charity.

When the Poplis immigrated to Canada in 2020 on the last flight from India before COVID shutdowns, they found themselves housebound, without jobs, and in need of a food bank to provide for their family. A year later, having settled in Victoria, they set their hearts on creating a charitable delivery service of their own that could bring items to those who aren’t as mobile.

Since 2021, Fateh Care Charity has been filling bellies, feeding souls, and creating heartfelt connections in Greater Victoria. Tune in to an inspiring conversation with the Poplis and host Lucky Budd, about selflessness, faith, and a love for community.

Vital Signs Issue Area:

This episode relates to the issue area of ‘Getting Started’, which was given a grade of ‘C’ in Greater Victoria’s 2023 Vital Signs report (see page 18), as well as ‘Standard of Living’ which was given a grade of B- (see page 30). This issue is connected to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere, and Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

Episode 21 Guest:

Fateh Care Charity is a registered charity founded in Victoria, BC, in 2021. It is a ‘Care Start-up’ currently providing support to the elderly, home-quarantined covid-19 patients, specially-abled individuals, and people who are looking for a helping hand but don’t know where to go or whom to ask.

Dr. Navneet Kaur Popli works as an associate professor of software engineering at UVic, and her husband Harjas Singh Popli works as a Human Resources professional. They operate Fateh Care outside of their work hours, and say they donate over 10 per cent of everything they earn to the community. In 2023, Fateh Care Charity won a West Shore Local Hero Award for its dedication to the wellbeing of the community.

Episode 21 Resources: