This Mosque Cooks, Delivers Thousands Of Meals To The Needy

UNITED KINGDOM. A Burton mosque cooked and delivered more than 3,500 meals to vulnerable and needy people during the month of Ramadan.

The Central Jamia Mosque Rizvia organised a daily food parcel delivery service throughout the month thanks to contributions from the Muslim community in Burton.

Every day a team of volunteers in Burton prepared, packed and delivered food parcels, using the mosque’s large kitchen and main hall, maintaining social distancing and following government guidelines throughout.

The parcels were delivered to people’s homes, as well as to key workers across the town, including NHS staff at Burton’s Queen’s Hospital.

Tariq Hussain, 52, spokesperson for the mosque, said: “The food parcel scheme went really well and I would like to thank all the people who gave up their time and devoted themselves to the project.

“Some of the volunteers were working nearly six hours a day, whilst fasting to make sure the food was prepared and then boxed ready to be delivered.

“The numbers we reached would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the volunteers and the donors so I can’t thank them enough.

“As a mosque, we exceeded our expectations on how well the project went and I must congratulate the people who came forward and accepted they needed our help.

“This can be quite difficult as pride can get in the way, but because of their honesty we were able to reach out to more people.”

The mosque also provided help and support, including water pumps and food parcels on a international front to countries such as Zambia, Palestine, Iraq, Yemen, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Mr Hussain added: “We have previously been out to these countries and provided help and aid on a first-hand basis, however due to the covid-19 pandemic we weren’t able to go ourselves this time, but with the help of our contacts in the respected countries we were still able to help the needy.

“We hope to continue the food parcel project in Burton and make it a sustainable project, this is something we as a mosque are currently thinking about and hopefully with the support of our community, we will be able to carry on.

“It was the first time something like this has happened [by the mosque] in Burton, and we got a lot of positive feedback from people around us, including Staffordshire County Council, who supported us with a donation.

“It was a very dedicated effort from everyone involved and I am very confident we can turn this into a regular occurrence.”

“In Burton, more than 3,500 food parcels were delivered to the residents and healthcare workers regardless of their faith or background.

“Some families were also given dry food hampers amid the coronavirus crisis.

“Every evening was exuberant, helping other especially to be able to serve the less fortunate people in our society is absolutely mesmerising.

“I commend the volunteers, donors and everyone involved for their devoted subscription in this stunning art of giving initiative.”