The nation has again been reassured that food supplies are abundant. Unlike in some other countries during the coronavirus pandemic, there is no serious food shortages in the UAE. No long lines at food outlets. Supermarkets shelves are fully stocked. This is the result of a sound government strategy.
The COVID-19 crisis has not affected the UAE food or medicine stocks. From day one, government policies and rules made sure that all citizens and residents have normal access to all necessities while they are being urged to stay home.
In Ramadan and due to the daytime fasting, people tend to exaggerate the amount of food they think they will consume when they end their fast. They buy unnecessary amounts of food and waste most of it
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces on Wednesday said the government, led by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has done an outstanding job with the food security strategy. The UAE, he added, has even “extended a helping hand to 10 more countries, hit by the crisis.”
However, Shaikh Mohamed, who was hosting a virtual Ramadan lecture by Mariam Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Food Security, noted that with abundance people might tend to overspend on food and thus waste a good part of it during the holy month. He called on people to break this “habit of excess.”
“We have a habit of excess that we need to restrain. If this excess or overspending is for a good cause, like charity, it is good and we support it, but overspending for no reason is bad,” Shaikh Mohamed explained.
In Ramadan and due to the daytime fasting, people tend to exaggerate the amount of food they think they will consume when they end their fast. They buy unnecessary amounts of food and waste most of it.
Some people give the excess food to those in need but many others just throw it away. Millions of dirhams are being wasted every year due to this unhealthy practice. This habit needs to be broken. Our children must learn to conserve and spend wisely.
Ramadan is the month of giving. And this year, with the coronavirus outbreak and its economic fallouts that led to thousands losing their jobs, we all are called upon to help the less fortunate among us. Instead of overspending on food and other necessities, let us in the Ramadan spirit help others. Let us share the blessing of the month.
