How One Group Is Feeding Rundberg While Fasting For Ramadan

Altaf Khatri asks the volunteers to circle up. In a few moments, the food bank will open, and they’ll distribute meals to hundreds of Rundberg families. But before they start, he has a quick announcement about snacks for volunteers.

“There’s no breakfast today,” he says. “Remember, we are fasting.”

This food bank is hosted by the North Austin Muslim Community Center, and the program distributes food to over 200 families each week. It’s taxing work, but for the next two weeks the challenge is particularly poignant. It’s the middle of Ramadan, a holy month for the Islamic faith. Practitioners won’t eat or drink from sunup to sundown. They will instead feed their neighbors while on an empty stomach.

“Let’s make our intentions clear,” Khatri continues. “We’re here to help the needy in our community.”

The NAMCC Drive Through Food Bank began in the midst of the Covid pandemic. Like many places of worship, people came seeking assistance. But their location put them in the heart of a vulnerable community. Rundberg is largely made up of Latino and Black residents, two groups who were disproportionately at risk for hospitalization or death during the pandemic, according to medical experts. They were also more likely to experience job loss and food insecurity due to the pandemic.

“We had people coming up asking for help with diapers, with clothes, with food,” Khatri says. “One of the initiatives that we thought of was to come up with something [where] we can help them on a regular basis.”

In February of 2020, they started delivering food pantry items, but demand quickly swelled. In just a few weeks, more than a hundred families were reaching out to Khatri and the NAMCC asking for assistance with groceries and fresh food. By April they launched the Drive Through Food Bank, allowing them to serve more families. Five years later they are assisting 250 families on average every week from across the globe.

“In our community, we have people speaking over 100 languages coming from over 60 countries,” Khatri says. “This program is open to anyone, irrespective of their faith or belief, as long as they have a need for food.”

But it is Khatri’s faith and the faith of many of the volunteers that makes working at the food bank both more challenging and more profound. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and is considered one of the holiest months of the year. It celebrates the revelation of the Qur’an and is marked by thirty days of prayer, reading, and fasting.

“The first few days, 3 or 4 days, your body is getting used to that routine,” Khatri says. And while they try to make sure anyone can help in whatever way they are physically able, fasting does add a challenge.

“We believe that everyone should have an opportunity, and we should make this program very easy for anyone to join in,” Khatri says. “But given, specially the month of Ramadan, it is it is very taxing for us … but we get strength through God.”

For many volunteers, helping at the food bank during Ramadan helps them better connect with the community. Atif Saeed brought his two young sons to help prepare items for pickup.

“I think we are tremendously blessed,” Saeed says. “It was important to do some of these activities not just for myself, but more to make sure they realize how lucky we are.”

Khatri says fasting can provide a window into what their food insecure neighbors are going through.

“We feel the hunger, we feel the thirst,” Khatri says. “We are doing this by choice, but there are people in the world who don’t have meals for days. …It brings a lot of compassion.”

Khatri says that compassion brings an influx of volunteers, despite the challenges.

“You would expect people are not eating, they don’t have energy, but in fact we are two times or three times the capacity of volunteers,” Khatri says.

Since starting the program in 2020, NAMCC has expanded its services to include a diaper bank, a free clothing boutique, a financial assistance program and a free clinic. Khatri hopes they can continue to expand the food bank program and open similar drive-through operations at other sites. He understands getting other places to sign on might be a challenge, but he hopes those who want to help others will take that leap of faith.

“Anyone who has a will to do, don’t hold back,” Khatri says. “Just take that step. God will show us the way.”

If you or someone you know needs food assistance, visit the Central Texas Food Bank to find food banks in your area. Visit NAMCC.org to sign up for the NAMCC Drive Through Food Bank program.