Donate food this Ramadan at hypermarkets, mosques in UAE

Dubai - The new locations were picked next to construction sites and labour accommodations.

Dubai Municipality has relocated some of its Food Bank Fridges to allow hypermarkets to donate their surplus food directly to people in need, an official said.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Sajiv Raghavan, food health inspection officer at Dubai Municipality, said the new locations were picked next to construction sites and labour accommodations.
Employees at Lulu Village in Al Muhaisnah, Aswaaq in Al Mizhar 1 and West Zone Hypermarket in Al Quoz 4 will fill up the fridges with surplus packaged or dry food, canned items with minor packaging damages and food or pastries nearing its expiry dates.
As part of the Food Bank, the municipality had initially distributed 80 fridges across Dubai mosques to engage the community in donating their surplus food to help the needy and reduce food waste under a safe supervised system, with10 fridges each in Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah.
But, Raghavan said, the less populated and inactive fridges in some mosques were relocated to more accessible areas to allow more people in need to benefit.
This Ramadan, supermarkets will be able to fill up the fridges, which will be supervised by trained food safety volunteers and employees, with surplus bread, cheese, yogurt, milk, water, laban, fruits and vegetables.  
Community members will also be able to contribute in filling up fridges at the mosques located across Dubai in areas like Al Nahda, Al Qusais, Hor Al Anz, Karama, Al Barsha, Ras Al Khor industrial Area, Al Quoz and Jebel Ali Industrial Area.
"Hypermarkets will be able to donate items that need to be consumed on the day of their production like pastries or dairy products. Sometimes consumers refuse to purchase products with minor damages on its packaging, even if it's fit for consumption, leaving it to go to waste," said Raghavan.
The fridges will be operational throughout the year and more relocating will take place even after Ramadan 
"We kept most of the fridges in mosques as people utilize them during Ramadan in keeping necessary food items like dates and water. Otherwise, more fridges will be relocated to more accessible areas after Ramadan to enable better use of them all year long," he said.
 The municipality is also in talks to relocate fridges in residential areas to allow communities to donate food.    
"At the moment, our priority is mosques and hypermarkets because as we hired teams to look after them. We are getting a lot of inquiries from residents who want to participate in filling up fridges next to their communities. We will be addressing this soon," said Raghavan.
Fareez Fazal, food safety instructor at Aswaaq, said while the hypermarket is a regular contributor to the food bank branches in Al Quoz and Al Bada area, the new fridges will enable employees to directly benefit those in need.
"Any worker or cleaner passing by will be able to pick up food items, juice or water directly. Our location near industrial areas is strategic to help us reach more people," said Fazal.
While the first fridge is already installed in Al Mizhar 1, Fazal said the initiative will be extended to their other branches in Umm Suqeim and Nad Al Hammar.
"It will allow people in need to use products fit for consumption that haven't gone on sale," said Fazal. "Maybe in the future, we would allow the community to donate to the fridge too after we get a system running."
Aswaaq donated Dh7,957 worth of food to the bank last year, and Dh4,741 food items during the first five months of 2018.
Since last year, the food bank's two locations in Al Quoz and behind Al Khazzan Park collected 2,160 tonnes of food, in collaboration with 35 food establishments, 13 charities and three sponsors.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
Cooking hot meals for workers this Ramadan
The food bank partnered with sponsors to provide meals to laborers and families in need. Besides distributing dry food received from hypermarkets and food establishments to charity, the bank partnered with Caesar's catering and Lulu catering this Ramadan to cook hot food for the needy. 
Caesar's catering company cooks food received from different food establishments to be distributed to 1,000 workers in labor camps daily during the holy month. "We receive oil, vegetables, rice and other supplies from different establishments. We cook them altogether and give it to the food bank that distributes the food," a company representative said. Dishes of Biryani and yogurt are usually cook for workers.
Tips to fill up Food Bank fridges
-  Donate safe and unspoiled food
-  Do not donate expired food items
-  Ready to eat food should be packed in clean and closed containers
-  Raw foods are not accepted
-  Make sure donated food were kept at the right temperature before handing them to volunteers or     putting them in fridges
-  Each type of food must be put separately
-  Make sure donated food has not been displayed or presented before

• Ramadan 2021
• Dubai