7 tonnes of food donated in one day for homeless at Christmas

Tower Hamlets locals have donated seven tonnes of food to feed the homeless across London at Christmas in one day.

Hundreds of people dropped off food at the East London Mosque on Friday in Muslim Aids #BigFoodDrive to feed London’s homeless during the festive period.

According to Muslim Aid an estimated seven tonnes of food were donated on the day.

All food items will be distributed to food banks through another charity called Crisis. The food will help those struggling to make ends meet within the UK

Pictures from Muslim Aids Facebook showed members of the 7,500 Mosque congregation donating food as they attended Friday prayers at the mosque in Whitechapel.

Shaykh Abdul Qayum, Chief Imam of the East London Mosque, who also helped organise the collection said: “In the cold winter months when we have the luxury of a home and hot food, it’s easy to forget about others that are in dire need around us. So it is in that spirit we take part in this big food drive.”

Rough sleeping has risen. Government street counts and estimates give a snapshot of the national situation. In 2015 they estimated around 3,569 people sleep rough on any one night across England3, a rise of 30% on the previous year and double the amount since 2010.