MOSQUE leaders have launched a Ramadan foodbank drive to help those most in need in Worcester during the coronavirus pandemic.

The appeal by Worcester Muslim Welfare Association is for donations of food including canned meals and fruit, pasta, rice, vegetables, biscuits and snacks.

The social media appeal reads: “Due to the current Covid-19, there will be many in the community struggling financially to feed their families from the impact of this pandemic caused to our daily lives. This uncertainty will have a profound effect on many families in Worcester.”

The foodbank drive has been launched in conjunction with Worcester foodbank. The mosque will be taking donations for the whole month of Ramadan and delivering to the local foodbank every Friday to be distributed from there to those in need.

Food can be dropped off at the mosque in Tallow Hill between 11am and 1pm every day. Donations can be left by the front door or in the collection box provided.

Mohammed Iqbal, general secretary of the Muslim Welfare Association, said: “This is also a time of uncertainty and financial insecurity for many, the impact of donations to our charity will be significant especially with our new mosque project. Our charity is publicly funded, and majority of our income come from donations made in Ramadan, Eid and Friday prayers.

“Ramadan is a month when majority people will donate, during this month alone. Muslims in the UK donate around £130 million to various charities, we use this month to campaign for our new mosque project, however this year the circumstances have changed due to Covid and the way we work and collect donations has also changed, we are now taking more online donations, we are lucky that we have a strong donor base who are continuing to support our cause. We will however move this campaign to a later time in the year or until restrictions are eased. We are fortunate enough that our organisation is in a strong position and will be able to weather the lockdown, however there are mosques in the UK which will suffer as well as many other places of worships which solely rely on weekly donations to keep them functioning.”