Maya Terro
Co-founder and Executive Director
Food is a primal, everyday part of our lives. At FoodBlessed we believe that food is a vital tool for supporting our local communities, bringing us together and connecting us as human beings.When asked about our secret to why our food smells so good, to why our volunteers keep on coming back, and to why our first-timers become regulars. I tell them it’s not a secret really and is always available in our kitchen as well as in everything we do. It is simply love! Whatever we do, we always make sure to do it with love. Maybe that’s why we’ve been able to help so many folks with our limited recourses. You’d be amazed at how many obstacles and adversities we face on a daily basis but with a little love here and there, we always end up overcoming them! We have achieved a lot since 2012. We want to thank everyone who has accompanied us on our journey of love by either donating to our cause; advocating for it; or even volunteering with us! Our hunger heroes are the shining stars. They are an inspiration and a beacon of hope to many, myself included. Truth be told, no recipe is complete without them! You rock.
Nour Abdul Reda
Vice President and Volunteer Coordinator
Ever since I was a kid and I saw a picture in a magazine of a child eating from the trash bin, the idea of poverty haunted me. I may have come into FoodBlessed aching for the hungry, but I have clung into it because it gave me hope and happiness and lots of smiles. FoodBlessed is the whole package really; you get to serve a beautiful community, listen to the stories of beautiful elderly, play around with beautiful kids, and make friends while washing dishes and binge-eating shawarma after. We offer meals, hugs, cleaning lessons, cooking lessons, serious talk, relationship advice, and a promise that life is not as bad as you think it is. Want to help? Volunteer anywhere. Want a family? Come to us.
Nizar Mahmoud
Pro-bono Financial Consultant
People choose to volunteer for a variety of reasons. Personally, I’ve always firmly believed that in order to see change, one has to be it. Fo this reason, and given the wonderful work that FoodBlessed has been doing since 2012 in terms of hunger-relief and food-rescue, I decided to join FoodBlessed. I am an environmentalist at heart and I believe that the work FoodBlessed not only helps those in need but also the environment.
Diana Sweid
Program Manager at #BeatHungerLB
FoodBlessed allows me to come face to face with the people we help, to touch their pain, hear and feel with them. And that’s way different from hearing about them. I have also learned to be grateful and to value small acts of kindness and how a little can go a long way when we decide to not waste any food especially when a lot of people are going to bed hungry. Foodblessed also has taught me the power of we and how one person can make a difference and how a group of people can have a huge impact on the lives of many. Charity work gives me this weird sense of joy, and no matter how tired we get at the end of the day, I still experience a sense of immense joy and pride in myself as a result of the good deed that I partook in. FoodBlessed is now my family and not just an organization. It’s become a necessity in my life
Hilmi Rifai
General Secretary
FoodBlessed to me is all about LOVE. I give love through working with FoodBlessed and I get love in return from our team, volunteers and especially our beloved guests. Our soup kitchens are like magic, if you’re feeling good you get to feel even better and if you’re feeling down you’ll get busy working and bustling that you forget your troubles! We are helping spreading awareness on issues of food poverty and food waste, always remember to LOVE your food and SAVE it, “Yesterday’s dinner can always be today’s lunch”.
Ghassan Farhat
Treasurer
“There’s nothing more valuable than a prayer from someone in need.“That‘s a saying I’ve always heard my father repeat while growing up. Yet, it wasn’t till I started volunteering with FoodBlessed when one comes face-to-face with the true injustice, misery, and hunger that the real world conceals. By contributing here I know that I’ve helped a person sleep with full stomach tonight. That’s just a small part of the journey though. The passionate volunteers are the heart and essence of FoodBlessed. They are the ones that tirelessly make everything possible. Their dedication and persistence is inpiring and encourages you to go back there and help out without hesitation. To me, FoodBlessed is not a place or an NGO, it’s the people; the FoodBlessed family. Indeed, that’s what makes it so special.
Bashir Omari
Technology Officer
I have always wanted to make a change in people’s lives. Ever since I joined FoodBlessed I was able to see the great impact this organisation has on society. Am not only talking about the change and the relief it brings to the people in need, but also about the increase in the sense of purpose for us, as volunteers!
Omar Daou
Accountant
Volunteering at Foodblessed played an important part in my life. It helped me gain confidence and improved my leadership skills. I spend most of my free time in volunteer work because it gives me a sense of pride and identity. Helping others gives me inner peace. At Foodblessed, we work hand in hand to achieve our mission. Although we come from different backgrounds and cultures, we make sure to accept and respect each other since at Foodblessed we believe that every person can make a change as long as he/she is determined. Working at Foodblessed is an honor and I look forward to a fun journey.
Ambassadors
Sara Mohammad Assi
FoodBlessed Ambassador (2020 – present)
To be human is to be kind. It is to be able to sleep knowing that your heart is happy. To me happiness means making other people feel loved and since cooking is my passion, being able to provide and cook for people in need is the way I show love to them.
I believe that food is love and an essential part of human connection, especially when shared with others.
I dream of making the world a better place by cooking for the less fortunate, and FoodBlessed has opened the door for me to start.
Always remember that: ‘when you have more, build a longer table, not a higher wall.’
Yasmine Idriss
FoodBlessed Ambassador (2016 – present)
For me, only one fight is worth fighting and it is the fight against hunger. I find it extremely disappointing and unthinkable that in this day and age there are still so many starving people all over the world. We as humans waste so much food for so many reasons and I believe it is time to make a change.
I am so happy and overjoyed to be named an ambassador for Food Blessed NGO which works solely for feeding the hungry???❤️ I will be sharing lots of tips and recipes on how to minimize food waste and maximize the use of our ingredients- economically and logically.
Marilyn Hajj
FoodBlessed Ambassador (2019 – present)
If I learnt something in my position is that the real treasure, one that no number could represent, lies in FoodBlessed. When you work in a soup kitchen, when you serve a person in need, giving them a plate, a bowl, it’s like giving them life. That is the most intense power one could be given and the finest of all honours. And even though, you might think that you’re here to help others, they actually end up helping you. FoodBlessed has built me to be the person I am today. It taught me lessons I could have never grasped outside of it. And most importantly, my teachers, the hunger heroes, my role models, have taught me patience, respect and responsibility. Every elderly we served, every family, every smile I’ve encountered is an achievement, one that cannot be hanged on a wall but hangs forever in the deepest parts of my soul. Thank you FoodBlessed!
Amany Sabbagh
FoodBlessed Ambassador (2014-2017)
I LOVE food and always think of it as a blessing. I’ve joined this organization at a time when I appreciated its sense of responsibility towards food waste. And then became a member of its family when I mingled with other volunteers, admired their diversity, and joined their fight against world hunger.To sum up, I always describe myself as A physician by day, A Hunger Hero for life.
