Christian Group Donates $100,000 to NY Muslim Food Pantries
A pair of New York food pantries run by a small Muslim charity recently received a large and much needed donation from a Christian organization on Monday.
The Muslim Women's Institute for Research and Development, which has operated the food pantries since 1997, got a $100,000 donation from the Collegiate Church Corporation.
This monetary gift successfully saved the organization from having to close down its two food pantries, located in the New York City communities of Highbridge and Parkchester.
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“We have worked with the Collegiate Church Corporation in the past,” said MWIRD Executive Director and founder Nurah Amat’ullah, who said her organization was not surprised by the source of the donation.
“The size of the grant was the surprise.”
The donation by the CCC will cover the cost of their operations into March 31, 2012, and also will allow its small employee workforce to be paid for the first time since Memorial Day.
Amat’ullah said that “Our hope is that other entities, including Muslim entities” will match the donation.
The food pantries of the MWIRD presently serve the “basic needs” of around 2,500 people a week and given the economic climate the demand is expected to increase.
“The MWIRD has faithfully its constituency for more than a decade. As the only halal food pantry in the city, their services are vital,” said the CCC in a statement.
“The Collegiate Church is honored to extend them a substantial grant so that their food pantry can remain open.”
MWIRD is not the only organization who is struggling in the present economy to maintain food pantries and meet a growing demand from the population.
North Carolina Church-based food ministries like Loaves & Fishes of Charlotte and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina have told CP earlier this year that they have seen giving decrease and demand increase. Angel Food Ministries, once a major provider of discounted groceries to approximately 500,000 families, closed its doors in September in part because of financial problems.
To help the growing number of families in need, Saddleback Church of Wake Forest, Calif., recently opened a community center to help bring relief to Orange County residents.
Having received the necessary funds to continue operating, Amat’ullah hopes to continue to work along interfaith lines to help needy families in the New York area.
