The Muslim holy month of Ramadan has begun, and it’s about fasting — feeling the hunger. It extends to spiritual discipline and gratitude. With that comes a delight each night: eating. But not everyone who fasts has a meal guaranteed at the end of the day; many do so with hope and determination to find a way to break their fasts at sunset.
That’s why this Ramadan, Zakat Foundation of America is committed to providing 100,000 meals domestically in a campaign called Feel the Hunger to Do Good — 15,000 of those meals are being provided in partnership with DoorDash. In addition to the 15,000 meals, Zakat Foundation of America is pledging another meal for every photo posted to social media, tagging @ZakatUS and @DoorDash.
“Regardless of your spiritual closeness to God, when one fasts during Ramadan, the first visceral reaction felt is hunger. Hunger is a feeling that unfortunately unites us — food insecurity exists everywhere,” said Amna Mirza, Chief Marketing Officer at Zakat Foundation of America. “Our campaign Feel the Hunger to Do Good will turn that visceral reaction to hunger into an action to help, to do good.”
Zakat Foundation of America is even being featured in Facebook’s #MonthofGood campaign for Ramadan. It’s one of five Muslim nonprofits selected to help Muslims fulfill their Zakat obligations, which are typically done in Ramadan (though it is not mandatory to do so in the holy month). Facebook and Instagram users contributed twice as much to Ramadan-related fundraisers last year than they did in 2019.
The humanitarian organization’s donors are able to give a warm meal to hungry people in about 50 countries for just $5, or a food package that will feed a family of five for the month for just $60. One way to contribute is by going directly to the organization’s website at zakat.org. Donors can also work with friends to raise money through Zakat Foundation of America’s crowdfunding campaign on LaunchGood.
"As you feel the hunger this Ramadan, remember that hunger is one of the world's most urgent problems, and the pandemic has brought on even worse rates,” said Zakat Foundation of America Executive Director Khalil Demir. “But my hard-working colleagues are delivering gifts of rice, lentils, noodles, cooking oil, potatoes, dates, tea, sugar and much more to the most vulnerable in nearly 50 countries around the world."
With an international, multilingual photo campaign, the organization is urging the public to tell the world they’re taking a stand against the hunger crisis. By simply adding a profile photo to one of their designed frames and sharing to social media, the public helps raise awareness of the hunger crisis and helps the organization feed hundreds of thousands this Ramadan.
Zakat Foundation of America has been feeding people for nearly 20 years and has grown its efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its immediate and long-term food security programs position it as a global leader in the nonprofit sector. After delivering more than 3 million pounds of fresh food in the United States in 2020, Zakat Foundation of America has built connections that allow the nonprofit to do even more this year. By mid-February 2021, Zakat Foundation of America had already distributed nearly 400,000 pounds of fresh produce, dairy, meat and non-perishables to those in the U.S. who struggle to put meals on the table for themselves and their families.
Beyond feeding the nation’s hungry, Zakat Foundation of America also feeds the hungry in five continents during Ramadan. The nonprofit provided more than 8.38 million meals in about 50 countries last year, supplemented by long-term food accessibility through agricultural and animal husbandry programs.
