JEDDAH, 29 September 2006 — Saudi charities helping the poor and needy are urging people to exercise moderation in the money they spend in buying food during Ramadan. The charities are instead advising people to donate the money for charity work.
Charity organizations have stressed that people are spending far too much money on buying food in the holy month and that a lot of this money could be better served to feed the less well off.
According to studies, SR7 million is spent every Ramadan (more than SR200,000 a day) on iftar food provided to the needy in mosques and in poor neighborhoods across Jeddah. Generous people seeking divine reward donate money and food.
“The iftar feasts that take place in poor neighborhoods and in front of mosques need a lot of money. It needs to be determined how much food is required for distribution,” said Ehsan Al-Tayeb, manager of social affairs in the Makkah area. Al-Tayeb added, “People have a tendency to throw large quantities of food into the garbage. This isn’t good. People who want to give in charity should give food or money to us and in turn we will feed the needy.”
Speaking about the food that is wasted during Ramadan, Al-Tayeb said, “We could benefit from the excess food that people buy in Ramadan by handing extra amounts of food and money to charities that will then arrange those to be distributed to poor families during Ramadan.”
In Jeddah, affluent people regularly arrange iftar feasts at mosques for the poor. Wealthy individuals regularly make arrangements with restaurants to supply mosques with Ramadan meals. Mosque caretakers then distribute the food to people at the time of iftar. In some neighborhoods, food is provided in special tents where poor people gather to eat.
The free food provided is particularly popular among less well-off African and Asian nationals. Muhammad Musa, a long time resident of Jeddah and originally from Bangladesh said, “You can see African women lining up in large numbers outside mosques to get their share of the food. Young Asian children are seen waiting in front of mosques to get food. Allah bless these people who provide the less well-off with a chance to have a good Ramadan.”
Al-Tayeb added that the mechanism of providing food to poor people is already in place and only needs financial support to become even more effective. “We need more money to fulfill our work. It is a sad reality that some people who come to eat in the mosques have a tendency of collecting the free handouts and then selling them in the markets. This is especially the case with dates. People shouldn’t let this put them off from donating though,” he added.
In Makkah, generous people provide free food to pilgrims that come to the Grand Mosque for Umrah. The courtyard outside the Grand Mosque is a popular place where young Saudis can be seen abundantly distributing dates and free food to pilgrims. Charity organizations say they are working tirelessly to educate people about the harms of wasting food as some of the donated food go to waste.
