Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services, LLC

1. Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services, LLC Dr. Salima Hunafa, Director

2. My educational background • B.S. in Education and Human Services Counseling, ODU, Norfolk, VA. (1986) • M.S.W. (Child welfare), UGA, Athens, GA. • (1989) • Ph.D. in Philosophy in Human Services, • Walden University (online) (2011)

3. Director

4. Our mission • Food distribution to families in need • Health awareness and education to families • Clothes and household items donations • Feeding the Homeless (monthly) • Home placements for low income or homeless families • Financial assistance (emergency) • Financial independence (home business)

5. Why the need for a mobile food pantry • Many of the families do not have transportation • Many of the families have limited funds to travel • Some families are elderly and unable to get out • There are few if any mobile food pantries in metro Atlanta and none in Northeast Georgia • Halal food pantries are essential for Muslims • Many local food pantries do not offer halal food or food that Muslims can eat (free of gelatin, animal products, etc…..)

6. Original Madinah Food Pantry location • Our first location for Madinah Food Pantry before we extended into family services was in a small school in Northeast Georgia • Due to lack of space and location we had to move to a more accessible area and also rent a storage space for some food items (non-perishable) • We started out just serving the local Muslim community in Northeast Georgia

7. First Madinah Food Pantry location

8. Madinah Food Pantry original location

9. Areas that we serve thru our mobile food pantry • We currently serve 10 counties in metro Atlanta and Northeast Georgia thru our mobile food pantry: • In Northeast Georgia: Clarke, Jackson, Hall, Franklin, and Banks • In metro Atlanta: Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Douglas, and Forsyth

10. Populations that we serve • Muslims who call in need of help • Muslims who live in metro Atlanta • Muslims who live in Northeast Georgia • Non-Muslims in crisis situations • Single parent families • Seniors (50+ group) • Low income families and families in crisis situations (homeless, in transition, abuse situations)

11. Confidentiality • Since we work with Muslim (and some non-Muslim families) and do provide family services all information we gather from intakes is confidential • We can not release the names or identities of any of the families that we serve without their permission • We do thorough intakes to assess the needs of each individual family so we can provide the most appropriate services to each family as needed (food, clothes, bill assistance, household items, or education services)

12. Who is eligible to receive food and other services • Individuals or families who are unemployed • Families who are on limited incomes (SSI) • Families in crisis (no home, no food, etc…) • Single parent families receiving little support • Families who are traveling thru the area • Homeless families or individuals

13. Ongoing Pantry needs • Salt free and sugar free foods (please see list) • Monthly or yearly sponsorships ($25.00-$50.00 monthly or $500.00-$1,000 yearly) • Volunteers to help cook, teach health awareness and education, cooking classes, write articles, recipes and assist with independent living • Coordinators to help with food drives as needed and clothes collection • Zakat and sadaqa donations to assist families in need

14. Special needs for Ramadan In preparation for Ramadan we are in need of the following items: Dates Spring water Halal meat donations

15. Food donations • All food donations need to be within the expiration date • Alll food donations must be free of gelatin, animal shortening, beef fat or chicken fat • All food donations must be unused and sealed

16. Volunteers make a difference

17. Volunteers make a difference

18. Volunteers make a difference

19. Volunteers for homeless events

20. Madinah Food Pantry pictures

21. Madinah Food Pantry pictures

22. Metro Atlanta food drives • Gwinnett Islamic Center, Suwanee, GA. (March 2013) • East Cobb Islamic Center, Marietta, GA. (April, August and September 2013) • Muslim Girl Scouts -Suwanee, and Johns Creek (November 2013) • Masjid Al Quba, Sugar Hill, GA. (January 2014) • Islamic Center of South Atlanta, Stockbridge (February 2014)

23. Food drive pictures

24. Food drive pictures

25. Meals on Wheels • Every Friday we distribute food to the homes of up to 10 Muslim families in need of cooked food donations thru our mobile food pantry • These are families that are in poor health, experiencing some crisis situation (ho food, without electricity or a way to cook, recent hospitalization, death in the family, etc….), elderly people or seniors • We pick up food at various metro area locations or from homes once we are contacted (one week in advance). • All food donations need to be properly sealed.

26. Mobile Food Pantry pickup for cooked food donationsKabab & Wraps, Alpharetta

27. Mobile food pantryMeals on Wheels

28. Emergency food package to a women’s shelter

29. Emergency food package to women’s shelter

30. Muslim and local homeschool groups and day cares • We collect books, educational materials, toys and equipment for families who are home schooling their children and in need of supplies • We collect and distribute furniture for home schooling families and day care centers who can not afford to purchase them • We work with home schooling programs on reading programs during the summer and special events and outings and provide food donations for these events

31. Sister’s day care

32. sister’s day care that we are currently assisting with in metro Atlanta

33. Muslim home school group-summer reading program party

34. Summer reading program for Muslim children and volunteers

35. Special Islamic Events (Ramadan, EID) • During the blessed month of Ramadan we deliver Iftar meals to families who can not get to their local masjid (due to illness, lack of transportation, sisters with young children, etc….) • Ramadan Iftar meal sponsorship program-individuals or families can sponsor an Iftar dinner either by cooking the meal or donating funds to have the meal cooked and we will serve the food at various masjids where food is needed • EID toy drive- each year different masjids, individuals and families donate toys, books, and gifts or cash so that children will get gifts for the EID which we distribute in groups or to individual families

36. Ramadan gift baskets 2012

37. More Ramadan gift baskets 2012

38. More Ramadan baskets 2012

39. Ramadan baskets 2014

40. Ramadan baskets 2014

41. EID gifts 2013

42. Janaza Fund . • Madinah Food Pantry & Family Services started a janaza fund in 2013 as a result of Muslim families calling who need help in paying for janaza expenses. • In 2013 we were able to assist with at least five janazas for families who needed assistance. • In March of 2014 (this past month) we assisted with three janazas for an elderly sister who died of cancer, a newborn infant who lived for only 12 hours, and an elderly sister who had been sick for a long time.

43. Feed the homeless events each month • Every month we feed homeless groups in Gainesville or Athens (Northeast Georgia area) • Both of these areas have relatively high homeless populations (Clarke County-Athens, one of the highest in the state of Georgia) • Different groups, families or individuals are needed each month to cook a variety of foods (rice dishes, meat dishes, salads, desserts, pasta dishes and ethnic foods) • These events are usually held on the 3rd of 4th Saturday of each month

44. Pictures from feed the homeless events

45. Feed the homeless eventsNortheast Georgia

46. Feed the homeless eventsNortheast Georgia

47. Current collections of clothes, furniture and food • We are currently collecting summer clothes for children in good condition-both modest western clothes and Indian style clothes (shalwar khameez, abayas, hijabs, kufis, etc….) We are also collecting men’s shalwar khameez (all sizes). • We have several families in need of twin size beds, bunk beds, queen size bedroom set, washer and dryers, deep freezers, dressers and refrigerator. We ask that anyone wishing to donate these items send pictures in advance to ummisix@gmail.com. All appliances must be in good working condition.

48. Clothes donation policy • All clothing needs to be clean and free of stains and holes • All clothing needs to be either modest seasonal clothing (now only collecting spring and summer clothes) or Indian/Pakistani style clothes • We do not accept underclothes unless they are new

49. Clothes donations

50. Furniture donations policy • All furniture needs to be in good condition and all appliances need to be in good working condition • We only pickup appliances and furniture on the weekends • We require pictures of all furniture and appliances in advance of coming