SOUP kitchens have urged the public to work with them in distributing food to the homeless in Kuala Lumpur during Ramadan to avoid food wastage during the holy month.

While many come with good intentions to help those in need, it is important to do it strategically, as the Ramadan month is one where Muslims are supposed to practice mindfulness when it comes to excesses in any form, they said.

Radzi Razak, co-ordinator of Dapur Jalanan, told The Malaysian Insight that in 2019, the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) reported about 4,005 tonnes of edible food was thrown away in landfills every day during Ramadan.

In terms of soup kitchen operators, he said, they would see an increase in people donating food to the marginalised, needy and homeless during the period.

He said the annual recurring food waste problem has also stopped Dapur Jalanan from distributing food during Ramadan.

“We have been over the years with our civil society partners observing the trend of ‘seasonal donors’ that contributed to food waste to the point that it was given without consideration,” he said.

“It was done without due diligence or prior planning and management.”

Radzi said donors should find out the needs of people on the streets instead of “blindly” giving food, even with the best of intentions.

He also recommended that they liaise with civil society groups or soup kitchens, which work throughout the year, to know about the local marginalised communities.

He further said it was difficult for Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to interfere, because it may affect the work of existing groups.

Instead, Radzi said DBKL could help connect members of the public to charitable groups if they are interested in helping.

Like Radzi, Justin Cheah of Kechara Soup Kitchen, also said if the public want to contribute to charity, they should work with local groups to avoid duplication.

“This is such a waste of resources and it makes our work harder when there is duplication,” he said.

“When people see waste, there is a misconception that homeless people appear to be well fed, so there is no need to further help them,” he said.

He said that there were some Good Samaritan providers who refused to work with the soup kitchens.

“Many prefer to do it themselves and most of the time, sadly, they are one-off charities,” he said.

He said Kechara, like other charities, has been serving the homeless consistently for many years, and the aim is to build a relationship with the homeless and find a solution to get them off the streets.

“All we are asking for from the public is to work together. As of now, we are only giving non-cooked food items, so that even if other people are giving hot meals, the street friends can keep the dry food we are giving,” he said.

Criminals at work too

Meanwhile, Munirah Hamid of Pertiwi, said while some ad-hoc groups give food, some give zakat money, which opens up room for criminal gangs to take advantage.

“Criminals will take advantage and bring kids from wherever to wait at the hotspots,” she said.

“They run towards these cars, knocking on windows, begging for money,” she said, adding that it becomes “ugly and awful”.

Munirah said the public should remind themselves that they also get rewards for good deeds the rest of the year without the sin of causing waste.

Those interested may reach out to Dapur Jalanan, Kechara Soup Kitchen or Pertiwi Kitchen. – April 12, 2022.