Islamic Relief USA will hold its annual Ramadan Food Box Pack-Out sessions in four states this year. The events will take place in Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, and Virginia.
The sessions consist of volunteers packing boxes with nonperishable foods. The packages will be given to people in need in their local communities through food pantries, houses of worship, among other locations. The goal is to create some 5,000 packaged meals at each location. All food will go to residents in the United States.
"During Ramadan, it is essential for Muslims to not only fast from sunrise to sunset,” said Said Durrah, national volunteers manager for IRUSA. “It also is a time to reflect, to think about people in your community with little means, especially with regards to healthy food. The food box pack-out sessions enable local communities to make a positive difference.”
Among the different tasks volunteers could do are putting together and breaking down cardboard boxes, carrying and arranging boxes of food, and sealing packages.
Each of the four pack-out days will have two shifts.
Virginia session will take place on Saturday, May 5, at 6820 Commercial Dr., Suite F in Springfield. The first shift is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the second shift is from 2 to 6 p.m.
This year also marks the 25th year of the founding of IRUSA. For more information on the organization or the pack-outs, visit irusa.org.