Alms of Africa - Hot Meals for Hungry in Marrakech

‘Alms of Africa ’ was launched during the Covid-19 pandemic by Nick & Fatim-Zahra and provides charitable food distribution for poverty-stricken people in Marrakech medina and beyond. Combining unutilised catering resources from Riad Africa and the Marrakech Cooking School, Alms of Africa provides wholesome hot meals for poor and hungry people. Typical beneficiaries of our hot meals are widows with no income, often with young children; people with disabilities; desperately poor elderly people; impoverished Africans seeking a better life; and numerous homeless with a story to tell.

Fatim-Zahra is a professional chef, who in normal times, teaches international guests how to cook tasty Moroccan cuisine at her Marrakech Cooking School. Supported by Nick and staff from Riad Africa, she has always been passionate about helping poor and needy people. Fatim-Zahra cooks and controls the preparation of all hot meals herself, ensuring nutritional balance, taste, and a varied ‘menu’. Meals are distributed on foot, by bicycle or by car depending on destination. What is very evident from our work so far is that we never seem to have enough meals to distribute – hunger is growing in Marrakech at a fast pace!

In the first phase of our initiative, using our own funds, we prepared and distributed hot meals twice a week, achieving 1,000 meals in our first month. We have the capacity to increase this five-fold, to 5,000 meals a month, depending on funding. Alternating between a generous portion of traditional couscous with seven vegetables or a hot baguette with tasty filling, the average cost of providing a meal is approx. 6.5 dirhams (just over 50p). So, a donation of £5 feeds 10 people, £50 will feed 100 people, or a £100 feeds 200 people. Funds received cover the cost of the food ingredients and packaging/paper/bags. Meat, poultry, fruit, vegetables, and spices are sourced from local markets. Other supplies are bought from wholesalers to ensure every dirham is well spent. All other costs incurred in the provision of our meals are covered by Riad Africa, Marrakech Cooking School and volunteers.  

With international tourism at a standstill in Marrakech, any donations you can make now to our Alms of Africa initiative will be greatly received and immediately used. We are extremely motivated and ready to help feed the hungry people of Marrakech. You can follow our news, view our short videos, and stay updated by following our blog, instagram  and facebook  page. Please help us - any donation you can spare will help to feed a hungry person!