Birmingham mosque opens Christmas soup kitchen for homeless

A city mosque has opened a soup kitchen to feed the homeless and needy over the festive period.

The Birmingham Central Mosque in Highgate has set up a marquee alongside its active food bank to ensure no-one goes hungry this Christmas.

Welcoming all who are destitute, needy, isolated or homeless; staff and volunteers at the mosque in Belgrave Middleway are providing both hot and cold food to anyone who needs it, from Saturday 23rd December 2017 up until Monday 1st January 2018.

They are also providing hot and cold beverages, food hampers and dry foods to people to take away.

Co-organised by the Birmingham Outreach Foundation, the initiative aims to spread festive cheer and community care during the weeks between Christmas and New Year, offering good will and company throughout.

Shahed Syed from the Birmingham Outreach Foundation explained:

“I set up this charity a year and half ago, purely around helping the needy people in Birmingham, ranging from giving food out, helping with clothing, and trying to support not only with food needs, but also in the future with medical needs as well. ”

Makhdoom Chishti, representing the Birmingham Central Mosque, added:

“We thought that seeing as this is the season of festivity where people are vulnerable, we should provide some food, especially hot cooked meals and dry food hampers.”

This is the third year the mosque has arranged to feed the homeless over the winter months, while usually also opening their doors to the hungry during Ramadan in the summer.

As well as the current evening food distribution, they are also providing afternoon meals on Saturdays between 3pm-4pm, and their food bank is available throughout the year.

First-time volunteer Naaz Ilyas said helping at the soup kitchen had “been a crazy eye opener”.

“Just to see these people right in front of me just shows how real this issue is and how real and important these donations are.”

The Birmingham Central Mosque Christmas Soup Kitchen is operating everyday between 23 December 2017 – 1st January 2018, 6pm – 7pm.