BIJA has concluded its Social Action campaign feeding 8,000 Londoners in partnership with Mizrahi Tefahot Bank.
The campaign to provide food packages was carried out in partnership with Amrit S Maan’s Punjab Restaurant. Its initial target had been to raise the money for 2,000 parcels, but due to the excellent response, over 8,000 parcels were reached.
BIJA raised the money from a number of donors and Mizrahi provided matched funding.
Zaki Cooper and Natalie Machta-Joseph from BIJA visited the Highgate and Newtown Food Bank to see the impact of the donation.
BIJA Co-Chair Zaki Cooper said, “We were delighted by the response to this fund-raising drive. It showed how our two communities can work together, inspired by our ancient faiths, to address common social problems. Covid has made life extremely difficult for so many and hunger is one manifestation of this. Food poverty is a blight on our society and faith communities can and must work to combat it.”
Matthew Plax, Head of Corporate Banking at Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, said, “Following a long and bleak winter, exacerbated by the pandemic, it was fantastic to hear how successful this campaign was. A huge thank you to everyone who donated and helped BIJA to smash its target and deliver so many meals to those in desperate need!”
Amrit S Maan, Managing Director of The Punjab Covent Garden, said, “This generous donation from BIJA and Mizrahi Bank will go a long way in supporting the Punjab Covent Garden's Londoners in Need campaign, helping to provide up to 8,000 meals. To date our campaign has supported over 40,000 meals across food banks, community centres and charities, and prior to that the restaurant since March 2020 served approximately 100,000 meals. It’s sad to see so many people from all walks of life dramatically impacted by the pandemic. Thank you BIJA and Mizrahi Bank for your support to help Londoners during this difficult time.”
