CHICAGO, Ill. (WIBW) -- Minneapolis has received an 18-ton delivery of fresh produce from the Zakat Foundation after George Floyd protests.
The Zakat Foundation of America, a Muslim-run charity, has delivered a refrigerated trailer of fresh produce and food to those locked in neighborhoods shut down by curfews, police power and fiery violence of murky origin says the organization.
“We’re sending more than 18 tons of fresh produce and milk into the Minneapolis neighborhoods near Floyd’s killing, where the personal pain and economic deprivation has hurt most and soared highest,” says Halil Demir, Zakat Foundation’s executive director. “Our partners in relief live and serve the people there: families, the elderly, the sick and so many children. As an international Muslim charity that — as a matter of faith and practice — puts the urgent life-needs of all vulnerable human beings first, no matter their color and whatever their creed, we’ve reached out to them to offer relief to those most vulnerable.”
Two of the foundations nonprofit partners, Al-Maa’uun and Building Block of Islam, part of the Minneapolis Muslim Leaders Coalition, have held nightly conference calls since the murder of Floyd in order to assess the growing needs of vulnerable communities and to strategize a targeted relief response says the charity.
“Zakat Foundation was the first national organization to reach out to us to determine how the people of the Twin Cities can be served in this time of crisis,” says Afzal Syed Mohamed, Building Blocks of Islam’s chief coordinator. “Through this support, we’re already planning our community response to ensure those affected have access to essentials like food and safety kits.”
The foundation says that Nabi Naser, director of social services for Building Blocks of Islam, is coordinating the critical assessment effort while other community members serve those in need.
According to the Zakat Foundation the torching and closing of small grocery stores that normallyserve low-income residents have been wiped out food and daily supplies, leaving a gap in the care for these communities.
Demir says that this has quickly grown into a crisis for thousands of people stranded in areas of protest intervention and reaction and that the crisis is quickly spreading...