For the past five years, a New Westminster non-profit has been keeping up with distributing food to those in need — twice every week.
Now, it's set to celebrate the achievement with a community barbecue party.
Hope Omid's fifth anniversary celebration is slated for Saturday, Sept. 9, between 3:30 and 6 p.m. at 930 Cumberland St.
The event will feature games and activities, a henna corner, face painting, a balloon artist, crafts and a variety of food options — from beverages, to snacks, sweets, cakes and candies.
Each family that attends also gets to walk away with a goody bag.
Offering a "fun-filled" day for the New West community is the organization's way of sharing its excitement about completing five successful years in the city.
"Hope Omid has made many wonderful accomplishments," said co-founder Roqiya Ahmadi.
Besides opening a food distribution centre for families in need, the non-profit has been delivering hundreds of goody bags with gifts to seniors and the homeless population during holidays and celebrations, she added in an email to the Record.
"We create many fundraisers for raising money for many purposes. We have donated every single penny to people in need and made changes in their life!"
The organization also hosts public events for the community — giving people an opportunity to get together, meet and learn from one another, while enjoying some food and entertainment, said Ahmadi.
How it all began?
As reported in the Record, Hope Omid was started as a thrift store (20-825 McBride Blvd.) to support Social Forum Hope, an organization that Ahmadi and her husband Mohammad Amin Ahmadi had founded to fight against child labour and child poverty in Afghanistan.
But the thrift store, which sold clothes, shoes, decor, electronics, toys, dishware and accessories for "incredibly" cheap prices, had to be shut down during the pandemic.
That's when the couple decided to pivot to offering food hampers for those in need in New West (the food bank started at the thrift store location, but has since moved to 930 Cumberland St.).
The program has been supporting hundreds of people; as per a recent Facebook post, they distributed food to around 400 people (100 households) on Aug. 21, 2023, alone.
Every second week, the organization also gives away free clothes to people in need, Ahmadi said — confirming that their thrift store will be back and open starting Tuesday, Sept. 12.
While the couple has been able to continue giving away free food and clothing all these years, Ahmadi said, "it has been a rough journey, starting on our own and trying to make our way up with little help."
"Overtime, we have become a bit more known and have received some donations. However, we are still struggling financially trying to keep up with everything and looking for support," she added.
"With more support, we will be able to help more people and offer more activities, while advertising more and opening in more locations!"
In the meantime, the organization is inviting New West families to join its special day for some cake and grilled hot dogs.
