Food is love: Afro Deli owner becomes part of Minnesota Central Kitchen to take care of neighbors

Ten different commercial kitchens in the Twin Cities are using donated food from Minnesota Central Kitchen to create nutritious meals for families in the community.

Afro Deli in St. Paul has made thousands of culturally acceptable halal meals for Muslim elders since the beginning of the pandemic. Owner Abdirahman Kahin saw a need.

"It was a huge impact to the community, especially with the elders," Kahin said. "And also, people with special disability who cannot find restaurants or most of their programs close or we had to convert our restaurant to, I would say, a community kitchen."

The hot meals are boxed up, put in insulated delivery bags and delivered to Skyline Tower where a large number of Muslim families live.

"And we provide a few hundred people, lunch and dinner," Kahin said.

"Our residents love Afro Deli," said Demetrius Shaw, teen program coordinator at Skyline.

According to Shaw, these free meals are important when kids are out of school.

"We know that there’s a disparity over the summer, where kids aren’t getting that food from schools. So we tried to provide those substantial meals during the, during the summertime here."

For Kahin, food is love, and he’s simply taking care of his neighbors.

"Because they rely on us. And we have to make sure we treat them like our best clients."

This summer 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is Feeding Minnesota. Now, the Cargill Foundation is stepping up to match donations to Minnesota Central Kitchen.

If you can help, click on Feeding Minnesota.