A Letter To Our Community: Buy 1, Give 1 For Sexual Assault Awareness
Hello Valued Customers,
It’s Devi Jags here, and I’m personally writing to you for many reasons. Our world is currently hindered, scared, and uncertain during the COVID-19 pandemic. We must rely on our community to carry us through dark times and help us find light with things like delicious home-cooked meals, time with our loved ones, and virtual calls with family and friends of other households. Although this down time can be positive for some, I can’t help but feel my heart bleed for a specific group of people that COVID-19 is affecting heavily- those experiencing domestic violence.
The Reaches of COVID-19
This April is the 19th anniversary of the designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The consistent efforts to bring awareness to the violence is critical to both past and current victims. The COVID-19 related increase in domestic violence crime rates is escalating more than ever before. The drastic decrease in family court hearings, orders for protection raised to only “life or death” matters, and slow operation of the courts culminate to create even more high risk scenarios in our global society. Although finding a solution is pressing for the livelihoods of these victims, there are ways we all can help.
That’s why our Sambar Kitchen Family has decided for all of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (April, 2020), we will offer a special promotion “Buy 1, Give 1” for our Pineapple Coconut Sauce. For every Pineapple Coconut Sauce Jar purchased through our site or our Amazon store, one jar will be generously donated to our local Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault shelter, SAFE Berks.
Sambar Kitchen is More than a Sauce or a Company
As a survivor myself, I will never ignore the trauma that I know happens all around us on a daily basis. Giving back to the survivors is a personal priority of mine every day, and even more so during the current global crisis. One of the hardest parts of sexual assault is the long-lasting after effects. For myself and many others, these can include panic attacks, depressive thoughts, and disordered eating. Despite my darkest state of mind, as time went on, and through the encouragement of friends getting me the help I needed, I began to heal. Through consistent therapy sessions, immersing myself in activism, and making a commitment to become more physically healthy – I realized how important the relationship I had with food and my body was to my wellbeing.
Recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and toxic relationships taught me that my happiness is vital in healing. It wasn’t until I moved back to the comfort of my family’s home in Reading, Pennsylvania that the importance of my roots revealed itself.
Sambar Kitchen is much more than a product I sell or a company. It is the bond of myself and my father when I was plane rides away from my home. It is my ancestors’ recipes, curated in South India rarely found on grocery store shelves. It is a product I got to share with my friends when given the same meal options at my university day in and day out. Lastly, it was a taste of my roots wherever my branches spread. Sambar Kitchen meals brought light into my life, and now it is my mission to help it bring light into others’ lives as well.
With love and strength,
Devi Jags | Co-Founder
For more questions, please feel free to contact us or reach us on one of our social media pages!
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit online.rainn.org.
If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorder Association Hotline at 1-800-931-2237 or visit https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/.
