Ramadan food drive growing in Sarnia

More volunteers visited more houses and collected more food for local charities in this year’s Sarnia Muslim Association Ramadan Food Drive, an official says.

Forty-seven volunteers canvassing door to door collected 1,360 kilograms of donations on a Sunday in March for the Inn of the Good Shepherd and Sarnia-Lambton Women’s Interval Home, said association president Abdul Haffejee.

That’s up about 50 per cent from the roughly 910 kg donated in 2024 for the Inn, which helps people in financial need, and the interval home, which aids women and children fleeing abuse, he said.

“We heard from these two organizations that the donations they received were quite timely,” Haffejee said. “So hats off to the volunteers.”

Part of this year’s 1,400-kg tally, collected via Bluewater Health emergency department staff and at Math Plus Tutors Learning Centre, went to the River City Vineyard’s food bank, association officials added by email.

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The number of volunteers participating also was up by about 50 per cent from 2024, when about 30 people took part, Haffejee said.

“The younger people are getting more involved and realizing the importance of giving back to the community,” he said, calling that encouraging.

Volunteers canvassed and left leaflets a week in advance, then collected goods left on doorsteps March 23, he said. Donations also came from association members.

“We really want to thank the Sarnia community,” he said. “They’ve been fantastic in this difficult time.”

The annual donation drive is a tradition for the association during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that this year ended in late March and includes fasting during daylight hours, Haffejee said.

“We fast during the day just to remind us that there are people out there in the world who don’t have a meal in front of them,” he said, also calling it a month of giving.

Hopes are to continue growing the event, he said, again thanking all donors.

“Sarnia is one of those places where the community really has made a difference,” he said.

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