The food not eaten ...
Published: Aug 1, 2010 00:04 Updated: Aug 1, 2010 00:04
JEDDAH: Examples of Saudi hospitality and generosity can often be seen at weddings and during holidays, especially during Ramadan, when people tend to throw parties where large amounts of food are prepared.
However, due to a lack of awareness and concern, leftovers often end up in the garbage.
A few years ago, some organizations got together to launch a project to distribute leftover food from weddings to the poor.
“We live in a culture of excess, and food is no exception,” said Fatima Al-Naeem, a 46-year-old mother of five, who channels food to one of these groups.
“It’s good that these groups are now increasing but what’s unfortunate is to see useless adverts about shampoos and food but none that raise awareness about wasting food,” she said.
Mohammed Al-Malki, 32, said he has so far attended five weddings over the summer.
“A lot of happy occasions take place over the summer holidays and some people love to brag about the massive feasts they hold. However, open buffets are still better than the old-fashioned feasts. The leftover food from open buffets is generally more clean because it is untouched,” he said.
Al-Malki also said people are not very conscientious about wasting food.
“We fast in Ramadan so we can feel hunger and relate to how poor people feel. It is unfortunate that people waste a lot of food in Ramadan. I really cannot understand how people can eat rice and meat at three in the morning,” he added.
There is no wonder why Saudi Arabia has one of the highest obesity rates around the world.
According to The Economist magazine’s world rankings, Qatar has the highest obesity rate among Muslim women followed by the Kingdom. A few years ago, the World Health Organization found that the Kingdom’s obesity rate is 35.6 percent more than that of the UAE (33.7 percent) and the US (32.2 percent).
Salma, a 28-year-old mother of two who is studying to be a nutritionist, said that with so much excess amounts of food around it is clear why Saudis are so obese.
“Wasting food is not acceptable anymore and people should value Allah’s Grace. Instead of putting five kinds of sweets on the table people should reduce this to two,” she said.
Salma praised charity groups that collect excess food and distribute to the poor.
“We have one of the highest obesity rates in the world. People here just enjoy food which is good, but our cuisine is oily with many spices and this causes obesity, especially since we don’t move around much here,” she added.
A project in Jeddah — called “Surplus Food” — is working with hotels and members of the public to collect excess food, which is then packaged and distributed among the poor.
“Many people call us and we appreciate that. Instead of throwing the food in the garbage we take it and give to those in need,” said one of those behind the project.
The project was started by Abdul Aziz Al-Zahrani, who has employed people to package the food.
“We have workers and apparatus to carry the food and ensure it is clean and hygienic,” said a worker who didn’t want his name mentioned.
The organization receives the majority of calls during the weekends and on holidays.
“The situation is such now that poor people know us and wait for us to give them food,” said the worker, adding that the amount of food they receive is huge.
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