Tesco donates food to Birmingham mosques for Ramadan

Twenty mosques across the UK – including in Birmingham, London, Manchester, Bradford and Leicester – have received a large donation of food this Ramadan thanks to Tesco stores.

Tesco stores provided over £20,000 worth of food ranging from chapatti flour, sunflower oil and rice which the mosques will donate to help feed those in need this Ramadan.

Each mosque works with local Muslim charities in the area to provide vital support for some of the community’s most vulnerable people. This includes supplying hot meals and food parcels to those most in need.

The food was donated to the mosques last weekend via a Tesco dotcom van, which had been specially designed by Sangeeta Digpal, age seven, as part of a Ramadan competition the retailer held for local primary schools across London.

Sangeeta, from The Clara Grant Primary School in Tower Hamlets, won the competition and received a £300 donation for her school, as well as a £100 Tesco voucher for herself.

Tesco is expecting Ramadan sales this year to be up to £30million with a 70% average increase in sales on key items such as chapatti flour, rice, oil and dates.  This includes selling approximately 4,000 bags of 10KG rice per day and 40,000 liters of tinned chopped tomatoes.

Matt Clark, World Foods Manager, said:

“Ramadan is an important time in the calendar for many of our customers and colleagues. As food plays a hugely significant role, we’re proud to offer a delicious range of products and meals at great prices in over 300 of our stores. This year, we’re also supporting local communities by donating food products to over 20 Mosques across the UK to help feed those in need.”

Ramadan is a month of religious spirituality and fasting for the Muslims community. For many of the faithful in Birmingham, it began on Sunday 5th June this year. For others, it began a day later.

Ramadan (sometimes stylised as Ramadhan), is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar is is utilised by Muslims as an opportunity for spiritual and physical renewal through prayer, meditation, detoxification, charity, good action, positive thought, learning and fast.

Birmingham’s estimated 235,000 Muslims and over 200 city mosques will be taking part in 30 days of religious observance, with fasts lasting around 18.5 hours a day.

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>> READ MORE: Birmingham Muslims mark beginning of Ramadan <<

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