FMB was initiated by the 52nd al-Dai al-Mutlaq Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, who often expressed an earnest, but seemingly insurmountable desire: to ensure that no member of the Dawoodi Bohra community anywhere in the world go to bed hungry. Launched in August 2011, this novel initiative today benefits over 135,000 community households in 869 cities across the world.

Apart from permanent staff, over 7,000 Bohra volunteers strive to keep the community kitchens running and ensure that fresh, nutritious meals are delivered on time each and every day. Run with voluntary donations from community members, FMB brings together every member of the community, regardless of socio-economic status. Over the past ten years, FMB has further expanded outside the Bohra community to include numerous sustained efforts to provide food to the hungry and impoverished as well as aid and relief supplies during emergencies and natural calamities.

Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin’s son and successor, the 53rd and present al-Dai al-Mutlaq Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, has been instrumental in every aspect of its implementation right from its inception ten years ago. Through his directions and guidance, FMB has managed to achieve its objectives: ensuring food security with a focus on providing healthy and nutritious meals, strengthening community bonds, empowering women, preventing food waste and enabling spiritual as well as material enrichment.

AN AGE-OLD TRADITION

Prophet Mohammed states that ‘There is no deed greater than feeding the hungry.’ These words continue to resonate in the hearts of the members of the Dawoodi Bohra community to this day. Food offers more than mere nutritional value and good health. Islam teaches that food is a divine blessing, the grateful acceptance of which is a form of worship. Sharing food, moreover, is a way of taking care of the vulnerable, bridging societal gaps and bringing the community together. The spirituality inherent in hosting another for a meal or providing food to others, therefore, qualifies it as one of the noblest of deeds.

The impetus to feed others stems from an age-old tradition that can be traced to the forefathers of the Prophet Mohammed and has continued to flourish throughout the history of Islam.  Maulana Hashim ibn Abde Manaf, the forefather of Prophet Mohammed, was renowned for providing food and water to Hajj pilgrims year after year. During a time of great famine, he also took it upon himself to feed the entire population of Makkah at his own expense. He did this by preparing a unique dish called tharid, made by mixing bread with meat and broth— a dish fondly known in the community today as hashmo, derived from the name ‘Hashim’ 

The Prophet Mohammed’s legatee, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, would till over a thousand acres of land and use the proceeds to feed the people of Kufa during the holy month of Ramadan. His eminent sons Imam Hasan and Imam Husain ensured that all the people of Kufa, as well as travellers from other lands, were invited to partake in the meals and both Imams would personally serve food to those gathered. 

Likewise, his grandson and namesake, Imam Ali Zayn al-ʿAbideen, would go out each night after the members of his household had gone to sleep, carrying a vessel filled with food on his shoulder. He would go door to door, distributing food to one hundred households in need, making numerous trips to and from his home to refill the vessel throughout the night. 

The Fatimi Imams, descendants of the Prophet and his legatee, were renowned for their generosity and prepared mawaid (dining platters filled with food) for the masses in celebration of various occasions throughout the year. Most noteworthy among them were the iftar (breaking of fast) meals served during the holy month of Ramadan and the subsequent Eid al-Fitr feast. Food platters filled with servings of savoury and sweet dishes known as simaat were laid out for all, irrespective of social or financial standing. This practice inspired a culture of hosting commemorative meals that continues to endure throughout the Muslim world even today, especially in Egypt. Thus, the tradition of serving food to others was handed down from generation to generation, instilling in the community a spirit of togetherness.

Following in their footsteps, the daʿis,  representatives of the Fatimi Imams, preserved and nurtured this time-honoured custom of providing nourishment. The 34th daʿi, Syedna Ismail Badruddin, swore an oath that, if he were to be honoured with the community’s leadership he would assume responsibility for the sustenance of students. His legacy endures even today as meals continue to be provided to students in numerous community-run educational institutes, especially in Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, the community’s premier educational institute. 

In the wake of a drought that devastated Kathiawar at the turn of the 19th century, the 43rd dai Syedna Abdeali Saifuddin cared for twelve thousand community members in Surat. Syedna nurtured and nourished them for more than a year until they could return to their homes and once again provide for themselves. 

Throughout the history of the community, its leadership has upheld the noble tradition of providing sustenance, be it in times of hardship or of prosperity. Today, this tradition is continued by the 53rd leader of the community, His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin. Like his predecessor, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, on the two sacred occasions of 8th Muharram and 19th Ramadan which mark the martyrdom of Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, His Holiness extends an invitation to each and every member of the Dawoodi Bohra community, to partake in the meal served that day, wherever in the world they reside. 

OPERATIONS

Head Office

Faiz al-Mawaid al-Burhaniyah has its head office in Badri Mahal, Mumbai, which houses the headquarters of Dawat-e-Hadiyah, His Holiness’ administration and secretariat. It is from here that a dedicated team of around forty members oversees FMB operations all around the world, ensuring that FMB thaalis, as the tiffins are fondly called, are delivered to 135,000 community households in 869 cities every day. When FMB began a decade ago, the foremost challenge was managing the worldwide logistics of the community kitchens, a truly Herculean task. Finding the right cooks, procuring fresh ingredients, planning the menu and organising volunteers and funds were elements of the system that needed meticulous attention. But the process was soon streamlined. Today, each community kitchen runs with near clockwork precision.

Menu and Diet 

Feeding thousands of people every single day is a challenging task. Ensuring that the meals prepared are not only flavourful and nutritious but are also like fresh, home-cooked meals makes this task even more challenging.  The FMB team of volunteers comprises professionals such as doctors, dieticians, nutritionists and chefs, who give advice in planning daily menus for the entire year. These menus include regional and seasonal foods. The aim is for the meals to contain all the necessary elements of a balanced diet while meeting the recommended calorie count and nutritional value. Emphasis is also placed on acquiring fresh organic produce from reliable local vendors. Additionally, the use of certain detrimental ingredients is minimised such as trans fat, spices, and artificial colouring as well as artificial flavour enhancers which often bolster taste at the expense of nutritional value.   Depending on the day’s menu, the thaali may contain dal, rice, roti, sabzi, soup, salad, khichdi, chicken dishes, biryani, and other Dawoodi Bohra traditional dishes—and sweets on special occasions. For senior citizens with dietary constraints, the items on the menu are prepared with special care. The food is cooked with minimum oil and salt and ingredients in the meal include more vegetables, foods rich in calcium and protein to help strengthen bones and preserve muscle mass, and whole grains to replace refined carbohydrates.

Finance

Faid al-Mawaid al-Burhaniyah is entirely funded by voluntary contributions from community members. Each household within a given town or city contributes to the local fund and in this manner, every member of the community has the opportunity to host their brothers and sisters for a meal and benefit from the spiritual reward promised by Islamic traditions to those who feed others.

Procurement

Fresh produce and other perishables are procured at the beginning of each day from vendors as preparations for the day’s meal begin. In areas where daily procurement is not possible, cold storage facilities hold enough produce to last several days. Non-perishables are procured in bulk and kept in dedicated storage facilities. This practice has the dual benefit of increasing savings and ensuring a sufficient stockpile of supplies in the event of emergencies and natural calamities.

Smart Kitchens

His Holiness has emphasised the need for the kitchens to conform to high standards of efficiency, safety and hygiene. FMB continues to further its efforts to establish  ‘smart’ kitchens by establishing guidelines that give detailed requirements and recommendations for every aspect of the kitchen, from spatial requirements to drainage and exhaust systems, to construction material and finishes. More than 150 community kitchens have already been converted into such ‘smart’ kitchens and FMB aims to achieve its target of upgrading all community kitchens as part of its ten year anniversary.

Health, Safety and Hygiene

Hygiene is topmost on the priority list of all FMB community kitchens and accordingly, meals are prepared in strict accordance with health and safety regulations. All cooks, food handlers, and volunteers with access to the kitchen follow extensive SOPs and hygiene precautions and teams are regularly updated with the latest protocols. A fortnight of workshops and seminars featuring experts from the field are organised each year to sensitise local caterers, cooks, kitchen management staff and volunteers and keep them abreast with policies and guidelines as well as the latest developments in the fields of culinary science, kitchen management and nutrition. Since the beginning of the pandemic, additional measures like temperature checks, wearing masks and frequently sanitizing hands and surfaces have been added to the list of precautions.   

Regular quality and hygiene checks are conducted by supervisors on an everyday basis. In addition to daily cleaning procedures, all community kitchens across the world remain closed for a period of two weeks each year, in which thorough deep cleaning of the entire preparation, cooking and serving areas is done by professional cleaners.

Delivery

Meals are filled into the containers and made ready either for door-to-door delivery as is the practice in most towns and cities, or to be picked up from designated collection points. Whether delivered door-to-door or collected, distribution of the daily meal has the added benefit of creating an opportunity for community members to meet and interact with each other on a regular basis,  engage in meaningful conversations and enquire into each others’ wellbeing.

DEALING WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

In the wake of the global Covid-19 crisis, His Holiness directed FMB kitchens and community organisations across the world to wholeheartedly come to the aid of those in need. This clarion call united volunteers worldwide who came forth to serve food to those affected by the unprecedented calamity.

Lockdowns across the world wreaked havoc on supply chains, disrupting the movement of personnel and critical equipment. However, the fact that FMB had been operating well-established community kitchens for almost a decade and had streamlined processes in place was a blessing, as it enabled the volunteers to adapt to the changes quickly. 

The Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, acknowledged these efforts during an online conference with various social welfare organisations and religious leaders, requesting the community to restart FMB kitchens in service of the nation during the lockdown. Subsequently, many FMB kitchens across India resumed operations after undergoing the requisite inspection from local authorities.

The year 2020 was an eventful one for FMB. With the support of local authorities, organizations, and charities, FMB set up food banks at numerous locations in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and other parts of India, distributing cooked meals and dry rations to those in need. FMB volunteers organised a food drive in London in the aid of a local food bank and were able to donate and distribute thousands of pounds of food to vulnerable families along with volunteering to serve hot meals to people in homeless shelters across the United States. Additionally, the initiative undertook a host of activities to promote food security and spread the message of Zero Hunger in Australia, East Africa, the Middle East, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. All activities were undertaken with strict adherence to Covid-19 restrictions, including social distancing, wearing masks, and maintaining high standards of hygiene.

Over the course of the pandemic, more than 200 community kitchens across 40 countries have provided hundreds of thousands of cooked meals and more than 1000 tonnes of rations to those in need. Provisions were made to serve refreshments to frontline workers, law enforcement officers and volunteers, giving them a moment’s respite in the midst of their tireless efforts.

‘The lockdown was a very tough period. We were forced to relook at how the community kitchen was operated. During the initial days, we went from door to door and provided essential dry rations to households to suffice for a month—vegetables, dal, rice, chai, butter etc. We collaborated with other charities, and also visited bus stands and railway stations providing food to people, such as daily wage earners who were in need.’

‘We were able to understand and follow all the safety guidelines and procure approval from officials to operate the kitchens.  This, in turn, helped us continue operations and help not just the Bohra community, but also provide food relief to everyone who needed it.’

‘Mohabbat ni Roti’

Roti (Indian flatbread) is an integral part of the Dawoodi Bohra culinary tradition and  roti-making, therefore, is one of the most important tasks in the FMB community kitchen. Handmade roti is not only a daily staple but also an expression of love and devotion. His Holiness often refers to them as ‘mohabbat ni roti’ (rotis made out of love), encouraging community members to keep alive the tradition of making rotis by hand as a means of staying active, nourishing the body, nurturing relationships, preserving cultural heritage and providing livelihoods. FMB kitchens reach out to community members willing to contribute by making rotis for the daily meals.

BOHRA CUISINE

Food plays an important role in Bohra religious rites as well as cultural traditions and certain dishes have therefore become synonymous with special occasions.