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Members of the local Muslim community delivered nearly 1,600 kilograms of food to the London Food Bank on Saturday, the culmination of more than a month of work by the group.
The food was collected by the London branch of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association from participating grocery stores in the city, and from members of the Ahmadiyya community in London, which has about 1,000 people, Saddiq Ahmad said Saturday.
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Though Christmas is a traditionally Christian holiday, the Muslim youth group felt inspired to donate at this time of year.
“It’s the season of giving. It’s a perfect month to donate,” Ahmad said. “Everybody needs donations during this time. We want everyone to have a wonderful holiday.”
The London food drive is part of a national campaign by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association that includes donating to food banks and serving hot meals to those in need throughout November and December, Ahmad said.
More than a dozen volunteers from the association unloaded a truckload and several carloads of non-perishable food at the food bank’s Leathorne Street facility Saturday afternoon.
The Ahmadiyya youth group donation, just days before Christmas, is just another way that Londoners from all different backgrounds and communities continue to come together to support the food bank, co-executive director Jane Roy said Saturday.
“What’s great about the food bank is we’re at the centre of all sorts of groups that wouldn’t normally work together,” she said. “It’s amazing. They all help because they know Londoners need it.”
The donation by the London youth group comes on the heels of a record-breaking Business Cares Food Drive, which wrapped up on Dec. 19.
The campaign championed by London’s business community, the single-largest food drive for the food bank each year, brought in the equivalent of 309,803 kilograms of food, a nine per cent increase over last year’s total.
The London Food Bank has seen community demand nearly double in the past three years. The charity now provides food to approximately 6,000 families a month, or 17,000 individuals.
jbieman@postmedia.com
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