Hunger

Food Insecurity is the limited or uncertain access to the amount of food necessary for an active, healthy life.

In the United States today, about 17% of Americans are food insecure. The situation is even more serious in Indianapolis, where approximately 22% of the population is food insecure. According to the Interfaith Hunger Initiative, an Indianapolis nonprofit and MAI partner, every night more than 18,000 kids in Indianapolis will go to bed without dinner. Here at MAI, we believe these statistics are unacceptable.

The need is great, and unfortunately, the recent recession has threatened of 70% of Indiana pantries. Approximately 32% of Hoosier pantries have been forced to turn away clients due to insufficient food stocks. It is now more important than ever that MAI takes steps to end hunger in Indiana.

Fortunately, the MAI Hunger Initiative has been a great success so far, and we are excited to expand our programs so that MAI can do even more to alleviate food insecurity across Indiana!

Because of your continuing support of the Hunger Initiative, MAI has been able to…

–       Help prepare over 6,000 meals for Indianapolis families

–       Donate 368 pounds of food collected from Indianapolis-area masjids

–       Establish the Muslim Mobile Food Pantry

But we are hoping to do so much more! In the next year we plan to expand our programs to allow for greater state-wide participation, while continuing to strengthen our existing programs

 

About The Initiative

To fight food insecurity in Marion County and greater Indiana, MAI has established the following three objectives for the initiative:

1) To foster understanding and awareness of the persistent threat of food insecurity  through education and service events with area partners

2) To increase local Muslim pantry capacity by facilitating inter-masajid cooperation

3) To enhance the Muslim community’s ability to distribute food to those in need

 

What can you do?

While we at MAI want to support and coordinate this initiative, it is ultimately a grassroots and community effort. We need your participation!

· Sign up for our eNewsletter and “like” our Facebook page for upcoming service and education events.

· Attend one of our service events at Second Helpings

· Communicate with your masjid leadership to coordinate a food drive that will support the pantries at Al-Fajr and Al-Mumineen

· Donate to MAI to support the maintenance of our Mobile Muslim Food Pantry and the purchase of food for food pantries in the Indianapolis Muslim community.

Muslim Mobile Food Pantry:

The Muslim Mobile Food Pantry seeks to deliver food to Indiana residents that may not otherwise be able to access affordable and nutritious meals. The size and mobility of the MAI van makes it the perfect tool for alleviating food insecurity across the state. Unlike the typical food pantry, the Muslim Mobile Food Pantry is not limited by its location, and consequently, the MAI Hunger Initiative is now able to serve a larger and more diverse group of people.

 

 

 

 

 

Donations and Food Drives:

It is through the generous donations of people like you that fighting food Insecurity in Indiana is a possibility. To keep our food pantries running, we rely on a steady stream of income and food donations. With your generous monetary donations, our food pantries are able to purchase food items from the local food bank at a cost as low as 10 cents a pound!  This allows us to feed more families at a lower cost. However, the quick overturn of food items in the food banking industry makes finding household staples (such as flour, sugar, and rice) nearly impossible. For these we rely on direct donations from members of our community. Coordinating a food drive with MAI and your Masjid leadership is a great way to become actively involved in the MAI Hunger Initiative while insuring that our pantries provide their clients with the best service possible.

Interested? Contact MAI for more detail.

 

Partners

IMCA Food Pantry

Masjid Al-Mumineen Food Pantry

Gleaners Food Bank

Second Helpings

The Interfaith Hunger Initiative