Community fridge feeds the needy in Govandi this Ramzan

A ‘community fridge’ set up on the ground floor of a shopping mall, Aventus Heights, in Govandi caters to those in need of food for the two most important meals during Ramzan: iftaar and sehri. Anyone who cannot afford to buy fruits and other food items can help themselves to those kept in the fridge.

MUMBAI: This charity is not only anonymous, but it also does not embarrass the recipient.

Community fridge feeds the needy in Govandi this Ramzan

A ‘community fridge’ set up on the ground floor of a shopping mall, Aventus Heights, in Govandi caters to those in need of food for the two most important meals during Ramzan: iftaar and sehri. Anyone who cannot afford to buy fruits and other food items can help themselves to those kept in the fridge.

Many organisations distribute iftaar boxes during Ramzan to the needy. But advocate Saif Alam, whose Exa Educational Foundation set up this community fridge, wanted to do something that would not make the needy feel embarrassed about taking charity.

Inspired by similar fridges set up during Ramzan in Dubai, Saif hired a fridge for a month and stocked it mainly with fruit, and also other items commonly used during iftaar and sehri, like dates, curd, bread, and boxes of rice.

A resident of Anushakti Nagar, Chembur, the 30-year-old lawyer got involved with social work in Govandi, a suburb with the worst human development indices in the city, during the Covid pandemic. Since then, he has set up office in Govandi as a lawyer, without giving up social work. His foundation currently provides rations to 50 widows who work as rag pickers in the Deonar garbage dump.

The fridge is located at a central thoroughfare, leading to four of Govandi’s densest localities. Saif first invited local corporates to donate, and, through their social media handles, to spread the word.

Response to the fridge, which has been functioning from the second day of Ramzan, was slow, said 28-year-old Shaikh Ishtiyaq, who has worked with Saif from the pandemic days. Though social media influencers were asked to publicise it, most people learnt of it through word of mouth. To make those in need shed their inhibitions about helping themselves to free food, Ishtiyaq himself took a banana from the fridge, “just to show that it’s meant for everyone, whatever their status. Really needy people might hesitate, thinking that those around may look down on them. But this food is really for all: from those who can’t afford to buy stuff for their family’s iftaar, to those who can’t make it home in time for iftaar and haven’t had time to buy anything to break their fast.” The fridge only needs refilling every two days, said Ishtiyaq.

No one has as yet walked away with more than what they need, said Saif. “In the month of Ramzan, those who are fasting won’t do such things,” he added.