Birmingham Central Mosque sets up food bank for those in need

The Midlands Business News reports that Birmingham’s Central Mosque has collected 2.5 tonnes of food, donated by Muslims in the city, for a local charity working with needy and vulnerable people.

From the local paper:

“Generous worshippers at a Birmingham mosque have donated 2.5 tonnes of food to a leading Midlands charity to help people in need.

“The Central Food Bank, based at Birmingham Central Mosque, has been collecting food donated by the local community and given the massive stock of provisions to Trident Reach the People Charity.

“The items…will be added to Trident Reach’s own food bank, which distributes relief parcels to those in need of help and support.

“Trident Reach supports vulnerable people across the region, including those at risk of homelessness, older people, young people, women fleeing domestic abuse and people with learning disabilities.

The article states that the initiative was set up “after a group of friends hit upon the idea of building up the Central Food Bank”

The coordinator of the food bank told the paper that “There is increasing poverty around the city and we want to help feed those people, while raising awareness of this growing problem.

“Members of our community are very giving and have been very generous, and we plan to continue donating food to Trident Reach on a regular basis.”

The Head of Tenancy Support at Trident Reach, Rajbir Shergill expressed gratitude for the initiative and emphasised the difference that the donations make to their work saying, “A lot of our customers come to us with nothing but, thanks to donations such as this, we can give them a vital helping hand while they get settled and get any benefits sorted out that they may be entitled to.”

BBC News recently reported on a similar initiative set up by the Discover Islam centre in Luton. With reports on the way the economic crisis is affecting ordinary people so often dominating the news, it is good to see local communities work together to alleviate some of the hardships faced by their neighbours. Moreover, media reports highlighting these initiatives will go some way towards countering the large volume of negative stories on Muslims in the press and help dispel the harmful stereotypes and caricatures they can give rise to.