I would first like to wish everyone Ramadan Kareem. May Allah accept our fasting! Every Ramadan, families spend a lot of money on food. I would like to remind everyone of the importance of moderation when it comes to spending on food during the holy month. We have reached a stage where the amount that we spend and waste has spiraled out of control. I am also talking about the food that is given in charity. It seems that we waste a lot of food when we put up Iftar tents and fill them with food.
Of course, our ultimate objective is to do good deeds. We want to help the needy, but our efforts are often random and disorganized. You can put up a tent and fill it with a large quantity of food, but you cannot determine how many people will come to the tent and break their fasts there. If a small number of people turn up, then what will happen to the uneaten food? Will it be stored and channeled elsewhere?
A few months ago, Al-Riyadh newspaper published a story about food that is wasted. The news items estimated that 12 million meals were wasted every day in Riyadh. This was the reason why Al-Itam Society was formed. Around 30 to 40 percent of the income of Saudi households is spent on consumables. According to Al-Itam Society, if a meal costs SR10, then we waste 120 million meals a day - that is 43.8 billion meals a year. Of course, this is only in Riyadh, what about other cities?
We are a wasteful people. We spend a lot of money on food at home, in restaurants and on Ramadan tents. We must control the tendency to go overboard with our spending, something that can prove to be a heavy burden on some families. Our government spends billions of riyals on subsidized commodities and services. We should, therefore, be careful with our spending.
The habit of stocking our fridges with food contributes to the increasing prices of commodities. Doing charity does not mean wasting huge sums on food that will ultimately end up in the garbage. We should be moderate and try to cut down wastefulness from 30 to 40 percent to 3 to 5 percent.
We must not waste food and spend a lot of money on it. Ramadan is a month for prayers and supplications, not wasting food. Allah says in the Holy Qur'an, “…Eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters.” (7:31)
