Phoenix restaurants raise money for Palestinian relief efforts

As Momen Abdelkarim watched the Israel-Hamas war unfold and a humanitarian crisis develop in Gaza late last year, he felt helpless half a world away in Chandler.

Then, the 25-year-old software engineer learned about an event hosted by a Bay Area restaurant where a portion of the proceeds went to aid in Gaza. Wanting to do something similar, he started reaching out to local restaurants about hosting an event in the Valley.

The idea quickly snowballed into 30 days of events in December, and those fundraisers have continued throughout 2024. To date, Abdelkarim estimates that about 40 cafes, restaurants and caterers have supported humanitarian fundraising efforts that have sent approximately $85,000 to aid groups through the effort, which he named Food for Palestine.

“It’s really a win-win-win,” he says. “People come together and see community and have new places to go to. Restaurants have more traffic and we’re helping support local business. And, we’re raising relief aid for people who need it overseas.”

Advocacy is not new to Abdelkarim. While studying at Arizona State University, Abdelkarim founded a chapter of PCs for Refugees and has lent his time to organizations including Water for Life.

“I always tell people, I’m not here raising relief aid for Palestinians because I’m Palestinian or because I’m Muslim. It’s because I look at this and I see this humanitarian issue going on,” he says. “If it was another country… I would be doing the same thing.”

‘An appetite for activism’

“Clearly we’re seeing more and more and more of the public sentiment shift, but the further back we go, the more the sentiment was not in your favor as a business,” he says.

WhereUBean Coffee, a cafe near Chandler Boulevard and 48th Street, was the first to agree to host an event.

Zakir Siddiqi has run the shop with his mother, Ayesha, and brother Zain since 2020, taking it over from Siddiqi’s uncle. Siddiqi describes his family as “activist-oriented.”

“We were raised with a lot of beliefs in social justice,” he says.

But, he concedes there were some reservations about participating.

“We were nervous because we weren’t sure how the community would react,” Siddiqi says. “We also felt like as a Muslim-owned business we had a little bit of a duty to speak up about something we felt needed more attention.”

WhereUBean hosted its first Food for Palestine event on Dec. 2, dedicating 25% of sales to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund — one of three organizations that Food for Palestine has asked its partners to support via direct donations following an event.

Hundreds of people showed up and the cafe tripled its best day of sales, according to Siddiqi, in part because they stayed open later than normal to serve everyone.

“The way the community responded to the event was absolutely mindblowing,” he says. “That immediately told me this community seems to have an appetite for activism with their coffee.”

The success of partnering with WhereUBean “opened a lot of doors for us,” Abdelkarim says. It led to events large and small, from ongoing weekly fundraisers with restaurant partners to a day-long festival in March and a packed schedule of events throughout the month of Ramadan.

Although Palestinian and Muslim people in the Valley have been a driving force behind Food for Palestine, anyone can host events and raise funds.

“For me, I’m happy to work with anybody… we’re all united for one cause,” Abdelkarim says.

Food for Palestine eyeing fall festival

Siddiqi has seen a diverse response to the events. WhereUBean hosted a Food for Palestine event during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month where many fast between sunrise and sunset. Siddiqi worried the event may flounder.

“The crazy thing is the sales were just as good during the day as they were during the night, so the Phoenix community, the non-Muslim community, the people that just wanted to support us and Food for Palestine were showing up in just as much force,” he says.

While the events have largely been positive, Skoden Coffee & Tea faced backlash for sharing support of Palestinians in advance of a Food for Palestine event at the Indigenous-owned uptown Phoenix cafe, which until May 16 will reside inside For the People.

Skoden went forward with the event. Co-owner Natasha John says it was one of their best days of sales and event organizers say Skoden donated more than $3,000 in proceeds to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.

“We really did not anticipate the crowd that we would get, but it was incredible,” John says. “We ran out of everything. The line wrapped around the store, it went out the door.”

With the war ongoing, and protests continuing at college campuses locally and around the country, Abdelkarim says he intends to formalize the volunteer-run organization into a nonprofit. Though he’s had to relocate to the Bay Area for work, he continues to head the organization remotely. His sister markets the events and Abdelkarim has formed a board of directors.

With temperatures rising in the Valley, Food for Palestine organizers are eying another festival — featuring food, drinks, artisans and activities ranging from henna to a bounce house — in the fall.

Food for Palestine will continue hosting weekly fundraising events with partners, and posts dates on social media. On Saturday, Tempe coffee shop Shaghf Cafe will donate 25% of profits to Islamic Relief USA.

Building connections between diners and local eateries is something that Abdelkarim believes will help sustain the effort.

“We want you to come out and do what you already do, which is you’re already eating out,” he says.

He also has his mind set on growth – helping other cities launch restaurant-based fundraising events and eventually growing Food for Palestine’s reach to support relief efforts around the world.

“Right now the focus is on Palestine and it will continue to be for the foreseeable future,” he says. “There’s always a need… We are not here to focus on one country and call it a day.”