大象传媒

Good morning!

I鈥檓 convinced that if my family and every household in the UK tried not to waste food for just one day, we could help feed a small country for a day!
As the numbers grow of people in our own country relying on food banks, I鈥檝e taken to volunteering with Mitzvah it鈥檚 a day when Jews and Muslims come together to cook chicken soup.

The Qur鈥檃n recognises the harms of wastefulness and reminds readers, 鈥淓at and drink but don鈥檛 waste.鈥� I鈥檝e noticed when some people have plenty, they take things for granted. They appreciate less and value less. I鈥檝e seen poor villagers in Africa having to ration their food stocks to last their family for a full year until the next harvest. They never throw away any leftovers. Here I鈥檝e seen so much food is wasted in restaurants and hotels every day and thrown into bins.

I鈥檓 encouraged by some schemes that food businesses are running where instead of binning perfectly good food at the end of the business day, they offer it at much reduced prices or distribute it to homeless shelters.

At home we always freeze our leftovers for another day. And it鈥檚 great because we can have a day off from having to cook. We also keenly pay attention to the advice given by the Prophet Muhammad that the stomach be divided into three parts; one third for food, one third for water and the final third for air, that is, to keep it empty.

As we count God鈥檚 blessings, I pray we appreciate them and not be wasteful, amin.