Providing Ramadan Food Aid to Lebanon's Vulnerable

Khaled W. Salam is organizing this fundraiser.

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Campaign Summary

FoodBlessed is leading a campaign across Lebanon during this year's fasting period of Ramadan 2023. The campaign will target families in need identified using the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in Lebanon.

FoodBlessed is aiming to provide 3,000 families with Ramadan food assistance parcels and hopefully help in creating a better livelihood for families during this special period of the year.

The Ramadan food assistance parcels will include food products allowing for a balanced diet during the month of Ramadan. Each food assistance parcel is estimated at USD 25 and will include staple base food products along with special items associated with the month of Ramadan including dates and Jallab specialty drink. FoodBlessed's volunteers will personally prepare and deliver the assistance parcels with a human touch.

To learn more about the year-round activities of FoodBlessed and how its volunteers are trying to feed the hungry one meal at a time, please visit their website at https://foodblessed.org.

The Story as Told by the FoodBlessed Team:

Ramadan Relief Plan 2023 For Lebanon

About Lebanon

The world is facing an unprecedented crisis. Millions of people across the world are struggling to survive during earthquakes, conflict, displacement, and extreme poverty.

Lebanon has been facing the most severe socio-economic crisis in its history since the summer of 2019.

The banking sector in Lebanon has fully collapsed, and people’s lifetime savings have been withheld. Day by day, the Lebanese currency (Lira) is tremendously devaluating and has lost more than 90% of its value against the US Dollar.
The covid-19 pandemic crippled the unprepared Lebanese economic, healthcare, and social system.
The catastrophic Beirut blast on August 4th, 2020 estimated damage is around $5 billion.
78% of the Lebanese population live below the poverty line (36% in extreme poverty) according to a recent United Nations report, and more than one million Lebanese need relief assistance to cover their basic needs which include food, education, shelter, and health services.

As a result, families have been left with nothing but despair as they struggle to provide for their basic needs. Images of poverty and destitution are incredibly heartbreaking because they act as a constant reminder of the fragility of life and the value of being kind to one another and sharing one’s blessings, no matter how many or few they might be.

We need to be there for each other, especially now. Your kind contribution can make a difference in the lives of struggling people.

…And this is where FoodBlessed comes in.

About us

FoodBlessed works to fight hunger and achieve social justice.

We have been working on improving the food security and nutritional security of the most vulnerable and impoverished in the Lebanese community, Lebanese and Non-Lebanese alike, across Lebanon since 2012.

FoodBlessed is a pioneering non-profit organization in Lebanon that is community-based and volunteer-driven. Moreover, FoodBlessed remains to be strictly non-political, non-religious, and non-partisan with a Zero Exclusion vision.

What this means is that we help EVERYONE in need. Thus, aid is channeled impartially to the affected populations, regardless of their race, ethnic group, religion, gender preference, sexual orientation, age, nationality or political affiliation.

The majority of the families we help lack access to their most basic human right, the right to food.

As it is customary, every Ramadan we raise funds to ensure those most in need across Lebanon’s most impoverished and hard-to-reach areas have access to a wholesome Iftar meal.

Doing so is not only about responding to an urgent need in our community, it also gives a sense of community back to those fasting in the holy month of Ramadan.

The Goal of “Share Your Blessings” Ramadan Campaign 2023

This year’s Ramadan campaign will have several things that are designed to provide food aid to those in need across Lebanon’s most deprived and hard-to-reach areas and communities in need.

We will provide Ramadan Food Assistance Parcels, Cooked Meals, and Public Iftar Events. We want to ensure that families across the region can still enjoy this special time of year despite their difficult circumstances.

-Ramadan Food Assistance Parcel

Ramadan food assistance parcels provide much-needed relief to needy families during Ramadan. Each parcel consists of the most basic staple food items such as rice, flour, cooking oil, pulses, milk, cheese, grains, salt, and sugar. In addition to dates and Jellab, known traditionally for breaking Ramadan’s fast with.

The food parcels are prepared by our volunteers at our HQ in Sin el fil and from there are disbursed throughout Lebanon.

-Cooked Meals

Ramadan warm meals will be prepared by our volunteers at our community kitchen to be distributed to the homeless, displaced, and elderly who struggle with multiple barriers to accessing proper food and food storage.

Each Iftar meal consists of a Main dish (meat/chicken) with rice + Soup + Salad (Fatoush) + Jellab bottle + 2 dates + Dessert/Fruit.

-Public Iftar Events

The Public Iftars is an inspiring and uplifting initiative that brings much-needed community and support to needy families. It provides free meals for those who are struggling to give them a chance to break their fast in a warm and inviting atmosphere. For many, it might be their only chance to enjoy an Iftar meal with friends and family.

Public Iftars are prepared by our volunteers and locations vary from restaurants to public places, and refugee camps depending on the target area and population. The Iftars include the traditional dates and Jellab for breaking one’s fast followed by soup, a main dish and salad and dessert/fruit.

Our Target

To identify our target to include the areas where those who are most in need reside, we used The Lebanon Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). MPI aims to complement monetary measures of poverty with non-monetary measures of deprivation. This is based on the notion that poverty is not simply about a person or household having low income but encompasses a broader set of factors such as lack of clean water or electricity, poor quality of work or limited schooling. Multidimensional poverty measures help to provide a more comprehensive portrayal of the poor in a country.

Target Areas

Akkar, Bekaa, and Beirut: Across the eight governorates, Akkar and Bekaa are the poorest, while the greatest intensity of poverty among the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)-poor is experienced in Beirut. In other words, while one is less likely to be MPI-poor in Beirut, the poor in Beirut are more likely to experience greater deprivation than in other governorates.

Tripoli and Baalbek: At the district level, Minieh-Danniyeh and Hermel have the highest incidence of MPI-poverty.

Target Population

For 2023, we hope to provide food aid to 3000 families in need (a total of 14,000 beneficiaries) distributed as follows:

80% Lebanese with a special focus on women (Female-headed households were also found to be relatively poorer in multidimensional terms), children (Children in Lebanon under 18 years of age bear the greatest burden of multidimensional poverty), and the physically and mentally challenged.

20% non-Lebanese including Syrian, Palestinian, and Sudanese refugees and migrant workers (coming from Africa and Southeast Asia).

Your Role

Join us in our “ShareYourBlessings” campaign in across Lebanon, as we strive to provide for those less fortunate in this holy month of Ramadan.

As Ramadan approaches, let us remember the true spirit of this holy month - to give and to help those in need.

Without your support and generosity, there’s just so little that we can do. Last year was full of challenges, nonetheless, FoodBlessed was able to provide food assistance to 2,750 needy families across Lebanon. A total of 13,750 needy beneficiaries were able to put food on their table every single day at Iftar time throughout Ramadan all thanks to your selfless acts of kindness. We genuinely hope you can continue keeping us in your mind and your heart and help us help more people this year.

With a donation of $25.00, you can feed a family of 4 throughout Ramadan.

With a donation of $10.00, you can provide an iftar meal to a homeless person.

Help by Sharing

Your support doesn’t start or end with donating, feel free to support our campaign by sharing it.

Fundraisers shared on social networks raise up to 5x more.

THUMBS UP FOR SHARING YOUR BLESSINGS!