Islamic Relief USA partners with Share Center for meal packing event in Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Islamic Relief USA and the Share Center Lexington held their first meal packing event Saturday, with dozens of volunteers assembling thousands of meals for Kentuckians in need.

The event took place at Lexington Universal Academy’s gym, where volunteers created a system to assemble meal kits filled with rice, beans and carrot flakes.

According to Feeding Kentucky, nearly 700,000 Kentuckians are struggling with hunger.

Community outreach goals

Zayd Shabandri, Islamic Relief USA development coordinator, said the meals are going to people who need them in central Kentucky.

“We want to do more in our own communities, giving back to our own communities and its a great opportunity to show what Islam is to our communities, so that’s one of our biggest goals is to help our people, helping our own neighbors and those who struggle right next to us,” Shabandri said.

Distribution plans

Arsh Ansari, lead nutritional director for the SHARE Center, said the goal is to assemble 20,000 to 30,000 meals. The meals will be distributed through the SHARE Center, God’s Pantry Food Bank and other organizations.

The SHARE Center is dedicated to serving those who need assistance, whether that be with employment or food, so Ansari said it was a given that the center would want to take part in this effort.

“Often times we see these individuals come to us and its gotten to a point where we got to know them, we know their struggles, we know what they’re going through and us being able to do this event means everything,” Ansari said.

Volunteer participation

UK student Sarah Ghanim was among the volunteers participating in the event.

“The most important thing we need as a society right now and as a community is to be more connected with each other, to meet people where they’re at and to be there for each other. It means a lot to me to see these people, fellow classmates of mine, to be out here. It means that we stick up for each other when we need it,” Ghanim said.

Organizers said around 100 volunteers signed up to participate in the event.