Initiative takes leftovers from hotel banquets to those in need

AMMAN — Aiming to promote Ramadan values, a group of 120 volunteers is collecting leftover food from banquets at hotels and restaurants, and distributing it to underprivileged people around Jordan. 

The project, dubbed “Family Kitchen”, started in the fasting month of Ramadan in 2010 and has continued to support people in rural areas across the Kingdom since then, project founder Bandar Al Sharif said.

“We collect the food that was not used at Ramadan banquets and we distribute it the next day to different areas,” Sharif explained.

The project aims to reduce food waste, provide high-quality food to the underprivileged and raise social awareness of consumption habits during Ramadan and other months.

“[Our group] tries to fill the gap between residents of Amman and remote areas in Jordan,” the 31-year-old told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

This year, volunteers headed to several areas to distribute iftar meals, which are eaten at sunset to break the daily fast in Ramadan, including: Madaba, Um Al Rassas, Salt, Hitteen camp and Zarqa, according to the activist.

“Every day, volunteers go to five-star hotels in Amman to pick up the leftovers from their banquets and deliver them to Family Kitchen headquarters,” Sharif said. 

“We distribute the meals the next day between 11am and 3pm,” he added. 

Volunteers wash the plastic containers the meals are served in so they can be reused the next day, Sharif said.

“We connect volunteers to local non-profit organisations in various areas of Jordan to inform them about our arrival so the residents of underprivileged areas know that we are coming with iftar meals.”

Through this project, Sharif said the volunteers become more aware of the issues some residents face.

“By participating, volunteers from [the capital] develop a sense of responsibility towards others, since they experience it themselves. They see what it’s like to live in an underprivileged family,” the project founder added.

“There are people who cannot afford to secure their houses with food. When we engage residents from different parts of the Kingdom in such initiatives, they understand and help promote the cause.”

Sharif said the initiative works around the year to support and provide residents of rural areas with their basic needs. 

Further information on donating or volunteering is available on the project’s Facebook page at:
www.facebook.com/FamilyKitchenJo, or by phone on 0796465369.