The third annual Interfaith Canned Food Drive is underway. The first one was put together just one month after the murders of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha, to honor the “three winners” legacy of public service. Now, with the help of businesses from across the Triangle, organizers are hoping to collect more food than ever before.

Shadi Sadi is the outreach coordinator for Project Lighthouse, a nonprofit created in honor of Deah, Yusor and Razan. He said that he’s had to store mountains of cans in his living room because of the many organizations that have donated to the drive.

“It’s as if people have taken their positions in this food drive and they’ll do whatever it takes for it to become a success, without you even asking them,” he said.

He added that this level of commitment shows just how much Deah, Yusor and Razan meant to the community.

“I would have never thought that so many people would still be reaching out to this extent,” he said. “It makes me wish that they were still here…(like) ‘Wow…I wish Deah could see this or Yusor could see this.’”

Project Lighthouse set up donation centers in various businesses and churches around the Triangle, starting February 1. Sadi says it’s not difficult to find people willing to participate.

“I don’t think since it started that I have asked someone for something for the food drive and they said ‘no,'” he said. “A local coffee house here, you know, she heard about the story and I asked her, I said, ‘Can we hang a flyer up in your window?’ I just kind of thought I could hang the flyer on the side, on her bulletin board. And she was like, ‘Can you please hang that on the front door?’”

This is also the first year that a large corporation signed up to help collect cans.

“Met Life decided to be part of it this year. And they put drop-off locations on every site, there’s flyers on every floor,” he said. “So, when you see stuff like that, it’s overwhelming.”

Sadi said that, although collecting food is important, he also sees the drive as a chance to bring people together and bridge gaps between communities.

“Last year for instance…I had a lot of people tell me, ‘I didn’t even know there was a mosque here’ or ‘This is my first time being at a mosque, I didn’t even know you guys were here,'” he said. “So that was cool…(having them) meeting Muslims for the first time and actually seeing their place of worship for the first time.”

The drive will come to a close on Saturday, February 25. On that day, there will be a U-Haul outside the Islamic Center of Raleigh from 10 AM to 2 PM.

Sadi says it is the most important day of all.

“We have people who are like, ‘Well, can I just drop you guys off some cans at the house and that’ll be my contribution?’ And I’m telling them, ‘I’d really like for you to come out on that day, February 25, and come out and meet each other,'” he said. “I feel that it’s very important to use this time to do that.”

If you would like to contribute canned goods, you can find a list of the collection locations on the event’s Facebook page. And, even if you’re unable to go to any of those locations, you can still donate via the Virtual Food Drive, which can also be found on the Facebook page.

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