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Wa maa tukhaddimu li anfusikum min khayrin tajidu ‘indallahi huwa kharyan wa a’dhama ajra
And whatever good you send on before yourselves, you will find it with Allah, better (that what you actually sent) and a great reward.
Wa Sall Allahu ta ‘ala 'alaa Sayyidinaa wa Mawlaanaa Muhammadin wa Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa sallim
1. What made you start the food pantry?
The Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services was started in the spring of 2011 because there is a tremendous need for food pantries specifically designed to meet the needs of Muslim families. Recent statistics from the Department of Agriculture have revealed that as a result of the economic downturn or loss of income of families in America many are finding it more and more difficult to provide sufficient food to feed their families. After living in Northeast Georgia for over 20 years and having the opportunity to live around Muslims and visit Muslims in other areas the idea for starting a food pantry seemed very relevant since there are currently no food pantries in the Northeast Georgia area specifically intended to assist those Muslim families with the exception of Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services. There are local food pantries in various counties throughout Northeast Georgia and Atlanta; however, much of the food distributed from these pantries cannot be eaten by Muslims. The meat is not dhabihah halal, much of the food contains pork, lard, or gelatin products as well as animal shortening in some of the snacks, baked products and cookies. From this standpoint alone, there is a great need for a food pantry that will distribute dhabihah meat and food that is halal for Muslims to eat. Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services also distributes Islamic clothing, modest seasonal clothing, baby clothes and personal care items to Muslim families in need of clothes as well as food through our mobile food pantry. We deliver food and clothing three or more times per week locally throughout the Northeast Georgia area depending upon need and two to three times per week to families in the metro Atlanta area who call us requesting assistance. For emergency assistance, we make every effort to respond within 24-48 hours depending upon the particular circumstances of each family.
2. What is the main differentiating factor in this pantry (why is it special)?
The most important differentiating factor when compared to other food pantries in the Northeast Georgia area is that the Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services is unique in that it caters to the needs of Muslims families and distributes halal foods, different ethnic Islamic foods and also offers health education classes on a monthly basis to children and adults to encourage healthy eating habits in accordance with Islamic guidelines and restrictions. Additionally, the Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services also distributes Islamic clothing, modest seasonal clothing, baby clothes and personal care products to Muslim families who are in need of clothing and other items. Another distinguishing factor is that unlike the more traditional food pantries where there is a limit of how often families and individuals can come to the pantry (usually twice per year or in some cases every few months) it is a policy of the Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services not to turn anyone away that is in need of food and clothing. If need be families and individuals can come on a monthly basis until their financial situation improves and they are able to purchase food or have sufficient amounts of food to feed their families. Food, clothing and household items (furniture, appliances, and personal care items) are also delivered to individuals and families on a weekly basis who do not have transportation to come to pick up food and clothes. In addition, Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services offers monthly health and nutrition classes which cover a broad range of topics including acupuncture, the use of herbs for healing, first aid and safety, massage therapy and healthy diet and nutrition.
3. How has this pantry benefitted the community in the past?
The Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services opened in May 2011 as a small food pantry designed to serve Muslims in the Northeast Georgia area, however, after four short months of operation Muslims located in the metro Atlanta area who were in need of food, clothes and household items were also served. By June 2012, Madinah Food Pantry extended its services to include family services and already has helped to feed and clothe many Muslim families who are experiencing financial hardships as well as assist with bills when able. During the month of Ramadan much of the food that was donated was used for Iftar meals to feed individuals and families and distributed to families who did not have sufficient finances to feed their families. For the past two years during the blessed month of Ramadhan along with hosting Iftar meals and distributing food packages and personal care items to families, the Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services also participated in a nationwide program that helped to provide Eid Gifts to children from infants to age 18 in Northeast Georgia and the metro Atlanta area. This past year Ramadhan baskets were distributed to families throughout Northeast Georgia and metro Atlanta filled with food, Islamic literature and other goodies donated by Muslim Girl Scouts of the Lawrenceville area in metro Atlanta.
Many of the families who request assistance from Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services have at least 4 or more children, some are single parent families, many are elderly and most are families with no income or limited incomes. Even with supplemental food assistance programs such as WIC or TANF, these programs in many cases are not enough to feed the entire family for a month so Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services has assisted many families with food and clothing (when requested) who otherwise would be left without food to feed their families or have to borrow food from others who may or may not be able to assist those in need. The Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services also networks with other Muslim run pantries and if and when possible, donates food requested to other pantries such as Baitul Salaam Network located in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Read more: The History of the Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services
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Enjoy our short presentation!
Alhamdullilah, through our work with Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services we have seen that many of our neighbors and people throughout Northeast Georgia and metro Atlanta do not know where their next meal will come from. The area served by the Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services spans TEN counties (Clarke, Jackson, Franklin, Hall, Gwinnett, DeKalb, Fulton, Forsyth, Cobb, Douglas).
Even in areas where food banks and food pantries provide weekly or monthly food assistance, we get referrals or calls from many families who may not always have access to food because agencies are only open certain hours or days per week. Some food pantries can also only offer food assistance once or twice per year due to the demands of so many people needing food. In the rural or more remote areas as well as suburban areas, many people do not have cars and there is no public transportation in some areas. It’s nearly impossible for them to get to a pantry mile away unless they can get a ride.
For those of us with a "living income" and access to several personal vehicles, sometimes it is almost impossible to imagine that there are families without private transportation. This is the reality for the most of the families we serve. They have no way of getting to the Pantry’s physical location.
While all of the food pantries and food banks are offering an extremely valuable service to their local communities, there are families who are still underserved. As a result, we saw the need to offer mobile food pantry services to families in need. Packaged donations are processed at our facilities in Lawrenceville GA and then delivered by our volunteers to the needy families. Donations of food, gently used clothing and furniture are picked up at the donors location and stored until processed for delivery. Onsite donations are done by appointment only.
We deliver food on as needed basis once we are contacted and after our initial intake process. We also offer client-centered food packages in which the families let us know what types of food they eat and what kinds of foods they can’t eat (sometimes due to dietary restrictions or health related reasons). Each food package includes specific items requested if we have them available, as well as certain basic essentials. The majority of families that we serve thru our mobile food pantry are single parent Muslim families, seniors (those 50 and older), people suffering from health related problems who cannot get to and from places easily and families without transportation.
Our major needs currently are salt free and sugar free foods since we serve many diabetics, people suffering from high blood pressure, people with allergies to certain types of foods, and people who have kidney disease or recovering from cancer. Anyone wishing to donate food items, please contact us.
With the Mobile Food Pantry, we bring healthy food directly to hungry people in need!
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Dr. Salimah Hunafa, Founder and Director of the Madinah Food Pantry, has successfully defended her Ph.D. dissertation. After submitting here dissertation and orally defending it, Dr. Hunafa has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Human Services.
The Madinah Food Pantry was started in the spring of 2011 because of the tremendous need for food pantries specifically designed to meet the needs of Muslim families. Recent statistics from the Department of Agriculture have revealed that as a result of the economic downturn or loss of income of families in America many are finding it more and more difficult to provide sufficient food to feed their families. After living in Northeast Georgia for over 20 years and having the opportunity to live around Muslims and visit Muslims in other areas across the United States the idea for starting a food pantry seemed very relevant since there are currently no food pantries in the Northeast Georgia area specifically intended to assist those Muslim families with the exception of Madinah Food Pantry. There are local food pantries in various counties throughout Northeast Georgia; however, much of the food distributed from these pantries cannot be eaten by Muslims. The meat is not dhabihah halal, much of the food contains pork, lard, or gelatin products as well as animal shortening in some of the snacks, baked products and cookies. From this standpoint alone, there is a great need for a food pantry that will distribute dhabihah meat and food that is halal for Muslims to eat. Madinah Food Pantry also receives and distributes Islamic clothing, and modest seasonal clothing.
Dr. Hunafa has been active in the Metro Atlanta community and nationwide for the better part of 25 years promoting Integrity Based Education and Social Services from an Islamic perspective. Dr. Hunafa along with Mrs. Safiyyah Abdul Khafidh was instrumental in the establishment of Madinah Madrassah in 1989 in the idyllic Madinah Village outside of the City of Commerce under the direct guidance of His Eminence Al Imam Shaykh Sayyid Mubarik ‘Ali Jilani Hashimi. Madinah Madrassah graduates have gone on to obtain degrees in higher education in several fields of study. Dr. Hunafa has six children, all of whom she homeschooled. Her oldest four children are currently attending college pursuing degrees in education, social work, information technology science and automotive technology. Dr. Hunafa homeschools her two youngest children, ages 16 and 14 using eclectic approaches. Dr. Salimah Hunafa was also an educator at Dar Un Noor School, an arm of Al Farooq Masjid in Atlanta GA during its formative years under Brother Qaiser Imam, then Principal of Dar un Noor School.
Read more: Dr. Salimah Hunafa Successfully Defends Ph.D. Dissertation
Alhamdullilah, we appreciate all the donations received from families and businesses during the 2019 year. Many families have received furniture, appliances, food and clothes as a result of everyone who donated items needed for families.
We are revising our list of acceptable items and ask that anyone wishing to donate furniture, household items, or clothes review this list before contacting us. Our needs are based on requests from families, so at different times we may need some items more than others and some items we do not accept at all. We recommend in these cases, that you contact your local charitable organizations (Goodwill, Salvation Army or local thrift stores) to donate items we cannot accept.
We do not accept the following items:
Furniture or appliances that are broken, damaged or in substandard condition;
Used underclothes (any underclothes that are donated need to be new);
Clothes that are not clean, have holes or stains (anything in poor condition that cannot be given to families in need);
Old, worn out shoes or sneakers;
TV’s or any older appliances (older computers, printers and/or electronics equipment);
Microwaves;
Expired food items, or food cans with dents and any food that has been used or opened cannot be accepted for donation.
We request photos of any items anyone might wish to donate (in particular furniture and appliances)and we reserve the right NOT to pick up any items scheduled for pickup that are in poor condition or that we cannot give to families in need. Our objective is to help families in need by giving them donations that they can use. If we pick up items that are in substandard or poor condition we cannot give them to families and are left to have to dispose of them. We will no longer pick up any substandard items or items in poor condition, so please carefully look over any items that you may wish to donate.
Anyone having further questions about donations, please contact us.
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
Wa Sall Allahu ta ‘ala Sayyidinaa wa Mawlaana Muhammadin wa ‘alaa Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa sallim
Qaala Nabiyyu Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim “al majaalisu bil amaana.” The Holy Prophet Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim is reported to have said; “The Majlis is a trust.”
In accordance with the above cited hadith and the social services code of professional standards Madinah Food Pantry and Family Services which is a social services organization, protects the identities of both client and donors. Just as there is doctor/patient and lawyer/client confidentiality so too there is social worker/client confidentiality.
There are those who have donated to Madinah Food Pantry and Family Services who wish to donate directly to some of our clients. There are others who are hesitant to donate because they cannot donate directly to our clients. The information our clients give us concerning their particular condition is given in confidence trusting that we will not divulge their personal information to others. The Holy Prophet Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim said; “The majis is a trust.” The information we gather when interviewing clients and filling out an intake form for them is treated with strictest confidentiality.