iFeed project

Assalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatu. Eid Mubarak! I really can’t believe Ramadhan is actually over, just like that. Makes you think how little we actually have in terms of time on this earth and help to ensure we make good use of it and be “productive”. That must be my most favourite word at the moment partly because in Ramadhan productivity was encouraged a lot but also because I’ve been really trying to improve myself in a lot of different ways. So in the quest of mine to becoming more productive, I went to one of iFeed's ramadhan project at the refugee center; something I’d been meaning to do but had been procrastinating about. To understand how important it is for people to get involved in such activities, I spoke to one of the brains behind the project.

Q: What exactly is the iFeed project?

A project that was set up by some post Nottingham Islamic Society Students and also current postgraduates. Last Ramadan (2010) some sisters came together to start cooking food in their kitchen to give out food to the needy and the hungry (be it Muslim or Non Muslim). We first gave out food at a homeless centre and then it grew from there. At present we cook monthly for a centre in which we provide hot meals cooked on site for service users.

Q: Why was it established?

"They (the righteous) give food in spite of love for it to the poor, the orphan and the captive, saying: 'We feed you for the sake of God Alone; we seek from you neither reward nor thanks.'...So Allah saved them from the evil of that Day, and gave them Nadrah (a light of beauty) and joy" - Surah al-Insan:8-11. It is our Islamic duty and responsibility to help those in need. We have to pro-actively contribute to our communities in helping the overall society.

Q: What is the future of the project?

We are thinking big! firstly we want iFeed to go national and hopefully establish in all regions. Secondly we want to start working towards setting up mosque kitchens around Britain to have food cooked on site and open to all (feeding the needy) and providing some support to those in need.

Q: How do people get involved in such projects?

At the moment we have a set of volunteers who are part of the project yet we are always looking for volunteers. With the recent expansion and visions to take things big we need a national committee and local committees in order to help things run smoothly inshAllah.

Q: Any final words of advice for someone wanting to start such a thing?

We have produced reports/documents to give you a brief guide on how to set up such a project and a website to follow shortly. This experience can be very humbling and makes you realise the amount of blessings that Allah (swt) showers upon us and yet we don't appreciate the full extent. We should always help those in need and should take from the Prophetic model of the Prophet Muhammed (saw) who was kind, compassionate and giving to those in need.

Jazakillah khair for your time.

Below are some of the pictures I got from the day which Alhamdulillah saw a few other groups including MCUK and I just couldn’t be thankful enough for what I have. Just in case you were wondering, you don’t get to pick as much as you want from each table. You have to choose either two or three from a table depending on how much there is. So you can only choose two things from table 1 for instance; imagine having to decide whether to get salt or oil even though you're running out on both. You’ll be glad to know that families can get double or triple the amount per table but even then.It was a truly humbling experience. You can join the iFeed group on facebook if you would like to get involved.

With soaring inflation (in a 6pm news voice), we all could do with cheaper groceries. Here are some tips on how to reduce the cost of food shopping

1. When you can, cook with only what is in season. Where possible store them for when they're not in season.
2. Shop later during the day and you can save up to 75% on your trolley.
3. Make a list and stick to it!! Just because it's BOGOF doesn't make it cheaper. If you'll only need half of one and why bother with getting two and wasting food.
4. Make sure that the sale is actually a SALE - don't let the supermarket trick you into buying what you don't need. You're not saving much if it says 2 for £2.99 when one was £1.49
5. Downshift (luxury brand>main stream brand>supermarket's own brand>supermarket's value) as you can save money just by going down one level. If you're cooking your food, it's not that big a deal anyway. If you don't cook the food well, it'll make no difference whether you used "Waitrose super luxury" tinned tomatoes or "Asda smart price".
6. Your local market may be cheaper than the supermarket and you'll be doing your own to "help the community" so buy from the market if you have one.
7.Stay away from ready made meals- they're always overpriced and they don't taste that great!!
8. Get a lunch box and make your own lunch- you'll save a fortune.
9. Look up and bend down - because a supermarket's aim is to make you spend,therefore they put more profitable items on the eye level. if you must get an assistant to help you get the item- they put it there in the first place.
10. Use vouchers - these days people feel ashamed to use paper vouchers like it's a crime. If it's going to save you money use them and ignore the dirty looks you get from some people.

And don't forget to do a price comparison and if your local supermarket isn't that local- save money on fuel, order on-line and get it delivered. That way you're not tempted to buy what you don't need!
Remember the prophet (SAW) discouraged wasting food and encourages us to eat every grain on the plate as you do not know in which part the blessing is. Even if you drop some on the floor, take out the bad part and eat the rest.
If you're ever in doubt, follow these easy steps and you should be fine.

Picture "The 30 second rule, A Decision Tree" by Audrey Fukuman and Andy Wright
Tips: Modified from moneysavingexpert.com