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Somalis raise $250,000 to feed Gaza families through kitchen project

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Thursday September 18, 2025

Volunteers cook large pots of food at a community kitchen in Gaza funded by the Somali Action Network, which has raised more than $250,000 to provide daily meals for families under blockade. The kitchen spends about $5,000 a day to feed between 500 and 800 families. Photo: Somali Action NetworkMINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (HOL) — Somalis at home and abroad have raised more than $250,000 to operate a kitchen in Gaza that has been feeding hundreds of families a day for the past 50 days, in a show of solidarity with Palestinians trapped under blockade.
The kitchen spends about $5,000 daily on food purchased inside Gaza and distributed by Palestinian clerics overseeing the program. Organizers said it began by serving 500 families per day and later expanded to 800 as food prices fell.

A ceremony in Mogadishu on Monday marked the 50-day milestone and thanked contributors. Videos from Gaza showed banners reading “Somali People’s Campaign to Feed Gaza” and “Thank You, Somali People.”
Sheikh Abdi Haye Sheikh Aden Hassan, who leads the campaign, said the project was launched after reports of children dying from hunger and United Nations warnings of famine conditions.
“When the crisis worsened, we added this feeding program,” he told the BBC. “Our Palestinian brothers assessed the needs, and it came to $5,000 a day. That is how we sent the first funds, and the work began.”
Despite economic hardship at home, Somalis rallied behind the effort. “At first we wondered how it was possible to raise $5,000 every day,” Sheikh Abdi Haye said. “But when people saw what was happening in Gaza, they responded. Palestinians told us Somalis understand hunger and hardship because we have lived through it.”
Organizers said the aid is delivered through local markets in Gaza, which continue to operate despite restrictions. “From Somalia’s own history of displacement, we know commerce never completely stops,” Sheikh Abdi Haye said.
The campaign has drawn emotional gratitude from Palestinians. “When someone helps you in a time of hardship, you never forget it,” Sheikh Abdi Haye said. “We hope this will be remembered by future generations of Somalis.”

Monday’s event also renewed appeals for continued donations. “If we managed $5,000 a day before, we can do it again,” he said. “As long as support continues, so will the work.”

With files from the BBC Somali Service

Sheikh Abdi Haye Sheikh Aden Hassan, who leads the Somali Action Network campaign supporting Gaza, speaks during a recent event in Mogadishu. He said the initiative was launched after reports of famine conditions and child deaths in Gaza. Photo: Courtesy of Sheikh Abdi Haye Sheikh Aden Hassan

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