Mass Iftars In UAE: What Goes Into Preparing, Distributing Meals Among Thousands Of People

During the month of Ramadan, several volunteer groups work diligently across the country to provide iftar meals to blue collar workers. Some put in efforts throughout the year to secure funds and plan the campaign while others have a well-oiled system that has been in place for years.

For The Giving Family (TGF), planning for one Ramadan begins as soon as the previous one ends.“We like to make sure our licences are renewed and we reach out to the kitchens to understand their feedback,” said Zehra Rizvi, one of the co-founders of the initiative.“About four months before the start of Ramadan, we start to get really busy, reaching out to corporates, having meetings and spreading the word about the campaign.”

Founded by Zehra along with Fadie Musallat and Sabrina Rabhi, TGF has been feeding over 5,000 people every day this Ramadan, with the aim of distributing half a million meals over the course of this month.

The group distribute their meals at an open space in Al Quoz where workers from multiple labour camps can take advantage of it.“Dubai Police has allowed us to use this space,” she said.“It is so big that we are able to have thousands of labourers to line up simultaneously and it is an easy spot for our volunteers to find.”

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Meanwhile in Jebel Ali Industrial area 1, British expat Siamah Qader spearheads a movement called The Kindness Circle which feeds over 7,000 people at two mosque sites. In its 11th year of operation, this year's campaign required planning from November, according to Siamah.“We reached out to professionals and corporates about volunteering for iftar distribution as an ESG / CSR team building activity” she said.“In terms of operational logistics, we started working with our partners in January.”

Voluntary group Team Iftar caters to three mosques and a public park in the Sajaa area in Sharjah.“We feed over 5,000 people every day,” said member Anees Easa.“While we know exactly how many people will come to the mosques, the number of people at the park varies widely.”

According to Anees, they have perfected the logistics of the distribution over 20 years and everything functions like a well-oiled machine.“At the mosques, we get large pots of biryani which our volunteers then portion out,” he said.“Meanwhile at the park, we serve individual packs. We have an entire spreadsheet full of information of how many people and how much food is expected in each location. If we fall short, we know how to manage from our previous years' experience.”

Siamah said that she visits the facilities of her partners to ensure that the food is of the highest quality.“We go on inspections between January and February to make sure that the ingredients are fresh and hormone-free,” she said.“We only work with reliable suppliers because this is a very time-sensitive operation and they have to provide the delivery at the right time.”

According to her, timing is the most“critical” aspect of their process, as there is only“a window of 2.5 hours” to complete the packing and delivery.“We need four trucks with food on one site and two on another and they have to arrive between 3.30pm and 4pm,” she said.“It runs like clockwork as a regimented, precise process and we are constantly finetuning it to reduce the risks as much as possible”

Meanwhile, volunteers from Aster DM Healthcare have been delivering over 4,000 food boxes across five locations in Dubai during rush hour traffic, in collaboration with Dubai Police. These boxes are carefully planned to include the essentials needed by motorists who find themselves on the streets during iftar time. They contain a packet of dates, water, a cake, and juice, offering much-needed relief to many.

The group of volunteers is the lifeline for TGF's distribution.“We have three groups - the unloading team, the packing team and the distribution team,” she said.“We have a family of over 2,000 volunteers, many of whom come every day. The corporate distribution starts at around 1pm and takes two hours. We start the public distribution at 3.15pm, which goes on till around 5.15pm, so that everyone has the time to go back home for iftar with their families.”

She said the initiative“has become life” for the three co-founders.“Earlier, we used to go for iftars outside or visit a Suhoor tent,” she said.“But now, our entire Ramadan revolves around this. Even when we go out, we go for a drive with our volunteers in the evening for tea."

However, for Siamah, finding enough volunteers is a challenge.“We have an active Whatsapp group where we release the daily requirement of volunteers,” she said.“Our calculation is that for every 100 people, we need two or three people. We have an incredible community of dedicated people who commit to come regularly. They turn up every day for which I'm gratefully thankful, but we need more such people. On one particular day, we had only 15 volunteers. So, getting enough volunteers is one of the challenges we face.”

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