Saathi House provides free food parcels in Ramadan

The food parcels contain items such as chapatti flour, rice, chickpeas and healthy snacks

A Birmingham community centre is providing free food parcels to help struggling families throughout Ramadan.

Saathi House, in Aston, have been providing the parcels to women who attend their arts and crafts sessions.

The parcels contain items such as chapatti flour, rice, chickpeas, dates and healthy foods and snacks.

Meena Bibi, office manager, said there had been a demand for the scheme, having noticed the price of food increased during Ramadan.

Meena Bibi said the food parcels had helped struggling families during Ramadan

She explained volunteers had been concerned that local stores and grocery shops had increased their prices for everyday essential groceries including meat and rice.

The holy month of Ramadan, where Muslims do not eat or drink during daylight hours, lasts for approximately 30 days and is set to end on 21 April.

Observers break their fast immediately after sunset, with a meal known as as Iftar.

Ms Bibi said some families had purchased items in advance or had bulk bought products for Iftar, to avoid paying the inflated prices during the month.

"A lot of the Muslim community what they do is they actually start buying before Ramadan, maybe one or two months in advance," she said.

She added that shopkeepers should understand the "difficult" impact of the increases on families, explaining she had recently paid £38 for chicken which was previously priced at £26.

Saathi House, in Aston, runs arts and craft sessions for women in the community

Women who attend the arts and craft sessions have been able to collect the parcels throughout the month, with others able to request the packs via email.

"We've had a really good feedback from people who collect them too, saying how grateful they are," Ms Bibi added.

Sunara, who attends the sessions at the centre, said the parcels had been a "blessing" during the cost of living crisis.

She said she had been unable to shop locally or support independent businesses due to price increases.

"We're grateful for any kind of extra support we can get," she added.