Sheikh Eid Charity Foundation officials collecting cooked food for distribution.
Eid Charity’s “Food Saving Bank” initiative is planning to propose to the Ministry of Education to include a chapter on importance of saving food in the curricula of educational institutions, particularly schools.
The Food Saving Bank is a humanitarian initiative of the Sheikh Eid Charity Foundation through which the organization collects excess food from wedding halls, homes, parties etc. and distributes it to the low-income workers and poor families in Qatar.
“The initiative was started in 2008 and has expanded a lot in the last nine years. Mostly, we collect cooked but unutilised food from wedding halls in Doha, Al-Rayyan, Al-Khor areas but our buses can collect food from any place in Qatar,” said Faisal Al-Zaman, Manager, Food Saving Bank, Eid Charity.
He said that in 2008, the year when the initiative was launched, people knew very less about it, and they distributed 28,000 meals per year among the needy through Food Saving Bank. “Last year, we distributed as many as 480,000 meals through this initiative,” he added.
He said that as the project was growing with the help of donors, the charity also wanted to expand its scope in Qatar. “Currently, we have 11 buses which collect excess cooked food from various locations and distribute them among the needy people but soon we will enhance the number of vehicles to ensure smooth and swift operations,” Al-Zaman added.
To a question, he said that the collected food was mainly distributed among workers. “We distribute a lot of cooked food to labourers in Ash-Shahaniyah area. We can also deliver this food to families but only if it is collected before 8pm as delivering cooked food to families late at night is inappropriate,” he added.
He said that among poor families, the charity usually distributed dry rations like sugar, rice, tea, oil, dates etc. and cooked food was distributed among workers. “For producing these dry food packets, some commercial chains like Al Meera also contribute,” he added.
On Food Saving Bank’s pavilion at Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF), Al-Zaman said that the purpose behind setting up the stall in the festival was to raise awareness on the charity’s initiative as well as on the importance of saving food. He said the charity was also raising awareness on food saving among students of various educational institutions.
He said that similar initiatives were also being run in other countries like the UAE. “There they collect excess cooked food and distribute it in packets that can be utilised for a bit longer period of time like 4-6 months,” he added.
