Calgary’s Muslim community gathers to celebrate Ramadan, support food bank

The fifth annual community suhur is took place at the Rajveer Banquet Hall in northeast Calgary on Saturday. Host Shaukat Hayat said this year they plan to give back in a big way.

“You are in a very high spirit during this month,” Hayat said of the month of Ramadan.

This year, organizers aim to collect 10,000 pounds of food for the Calgary Food Bank.

“We have got about 2,500 to 3,000 pounds of food already collected.”

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until dusk, partaking in two meals, the suhur and the iftar. The suhur starts around 9 p.m. Saturday and runs until 6 a.m. Sunday morning.

This year Hayat expected more than 7,000 people would attend the event, browsing stalls of local businesses, eating food from local restaurants and enjoying the on-site entertainment.

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“It’s, technically speaking, a food-tasting festival,” Hayat said. “So all the restaurants across the town, they come on board and bring their best dish from their restaurant and then serve to the public for free.”

Hayat said organizers not only expect to meet their goal of collecting 10,000 pounds of non-perishable food items, but also hope to collect cash donations of $5,000.

Watch the video above for more details.

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