Each weekend, members of the homeless community in Gainesville wait in line to receive free food from a group of diverse UF students.
Project Downtown Gainesville is a nonprofit organization that distributes free meals to homeless people in front of City Hall, located at 200 E. University Ave.
The group is mostly composed of UF students from different cultures, said Ikramamul Nibir, the outreach coordinator of the project.
He said the organization usually has 10 volunteers serving food for more than 100 homeless people every weekend.
Nibir said the group normally assigns a person to be the sponsor, who is in charge of cooking for one day each weekend.
On May 29, the menu included chicken, rice and pasta. Volunteers gave out all the food in about 20 minutes, said Jeena Kar, the sponsor for that day.
Nibir said the most important thing the organization needs is more promotion and recognition. He said he is upset with the way some politicians and news media manipulate the image of immigrants in America — especially the Muslim community.
Nibir said he is tired of hearing people make comparisons between extremist groups and people like the volunteers, who are committed to helping others and making this country better on a weekly basis.
Bernice Darby said Project Downtown Gainesville has fed her several times.
“Not too many people come down here and feed the homeless and think about the homeless and show love like they do,” she said.
Where:
200 E. University Ave.
When:
1 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday
Contact Ikramamul Nibir: i.nibir1@ufl.edu
