SHAFAQNA- When the Mosques closed their doors due to Coronavirus pandemic, a Rochdale Mosque asked its members to collect food in their homes for food banks. The Jalalia Jaame Mosque in Rochdale organized the food drive to make sure the less fortunate don’t go hungry this winter. Scores of Muslim families and 80 students from Rochdale Islamic Academy responded to the mosque call, collecting food between November 18 and December 6.
The donations were sorted and distributed to Rochdale Foodbank, homeless charity Petrus, and the Oldham-based UKeff (UK Education and Faith Foundation). Collecting a tonne of food, volunteer Sabbir Ahmed, 27, a work coach for the Department for Work and Pensions, believes it was worth the effort, Aboutislam reported.
“Since the lockdown in March, the mosque launched a Covid-19 support service and that’s when it dawned upon us of how many people are struggling in our own town. Due to the current pandemic, there has been a huge rise in unemployment which has sadly meant that the demand on food banks in our town have also increased,” he said.