ICNA Relief-Houston opens its second food pantry!

Alhamdulillah on June 15, 2014, ICNA Relief’s 2nd food pantry had its grand opening inauguration ceremony at its newest location: 5645 Hillcroft Avenue, Houston, TX 77036. Several local personalities were present and spoke on the importance of this new pantry.

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The ICNA Relief Outreach Coordinator for Houston, Br Shabbir Hasan, spoke about the vision for this food pantry, the upcoming membership with the Houston Food Bank, and encouraged those in attendance to participate and spread the word about this project.

The moderator for the event, Br. Musab Abdali, explained the types of basic grocery items the pantry will be serving and that groceries are the most sought after commodity of the pantry. He also mentioned that all products will be going to new refugees and needy families of all different backgrounds throughout the city of Houston. The Director of Programs at Helping Hand for Relief and Development USA, Br. Ilyas Choudry, mentioned the great work ICNA Relief has been doing for many years in Houston and touched on the fact that not only food items are being served from this pantry, but also basic toiletries will be supplied. He emphasized the importance of cleanliness and commended ICNA Relief for providing hygienic necessities to needy families in addition to groceries.

The owner of Hira Halal Meat, Br. Nayyar Raza, announced a collaborative effort between the slaughterhouse and ICNA Relief in which any goat that a person sacrifices from their farm for Sadaqa, Hira Halal Meat will donate $25 of that goat purchase to ICNA Relief. He encouraged everyone to spread the word around the city about this deal as it offers double benefit and reward for sacrificing a goat for Sadaqa, insha’Allah. Our main guest for the ceremony, CAIR-TX Executive Director, Mustafaa Carroll, praised this initiative greatly, agreed to spread the word through his network for contributions, and pledged his full support in the advancement of this food pantry. He also intended to specifically reach out through CAIR to add another freezer for meat in the pantry. Finally, the President of the ICNA Houston chapter, Br. Faraz Khan, expressed his gratitude to all of the attendees for being a part of this grand opening and encouraged everyone to inform their family and friends of this expanded service that ICNA Relief will be providing. At the conclusion of the speeches, there was a symbolic cutting of the ribbon by Br. Mustafaa Carroll, accompanied by Br. Faraz Khan and lead volunteer for ICNA Relief, Br. Muhammad Rafaqat. Following the ceremony, an open house for the community was held in which individuals had the opportunity to tour the pantry and inquire about how they can contribute to this cause. Various media outlets were present to cover this inauguration ceremony including FOX 26 News, Urdu Times, and TV One Pakistan.

If you would like to learn more about this project and get involved in some way, please send an email to houston@icnarelief.org, call at 832-302-1681, or visit the food pantry during operation hours.

Operation Hours: 3:00pm – 6:00pm Monday through Friday and 10:00am – 12:00pm on Saturday.

You can also donate directly to the food pantry at this link: http://www.icnahouston.org/donation/ and select food pantries from the drop down menu. We look forward to your involvement, insha’Allah.