Food Bank provides more than 120,000 meals in Ramadan

The UAE Food Bank initiative has extended to more locations in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman

Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates - May 23, 2019: Visiting UAE Food Bank - RAK Branch. Thursday the 23rd of May 2019. Ras al Khaimah. Chris Whiteoak / The National
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The UAE Food Bank has distributed more than 120,000 iftar meals to low-income workers and families this Ramadan.

Five new Food Bank sites opened in the Emirates recently, three of them in Dubai and one each in Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman.

There are also more than 80 food bank fridges across Dubai that allow people to donate food throughout the year.

Their contents are overseen by Dubai Municipality to ensure quality.

“The UAE Food Bank is the best way to deliver the food needs of all the needy across the emirate,” said Dawoud Al Hajri, vice chairman of the board of trustees of UAE Food Bank.

He said the organisation, founded in early 2017, embodied the country’s values.

It has several initiatives to provide food to low-income workers this Ramadan, including weekly food donation drives held at supermarkets in Dubai.

One of the goals is to convince more people from all the different sectors of society to become volunteers.

The drives were held between 1pm and 10pm from Thursday to Saturday.

After the success of last year’s food delivery initiative by ride-hailing app Careem and the UAE Food Bank, the programme was extended this year to increase the number of hours that Careem drivers are available to pick up donated food from homes to deliver it to the food bank fridges.

Food banks are used worldwide to provide food for people unable to afford regular meals.

In Dubai, they also aim to reduce food waste, which increases from 22 per cent of the emirate’s total annual waste to 55 per cent during Ramadan.