SINGAPORE - Some 200 needy families received korban meat from a food bank run by Jamiyah Singapore on Saturday (Oct 17), as part of the sharing spirit in celebration of Hari Raya Haji.

The festival of sacrifice, celebrated on July 31 this year, is marked by Muslims with prayers and the korban ritual involving the slaughtering of livestock.

The meat is then distributed to worshippers and the needy.

While the korban usually entails livestock being slaughtered in mosques across Singapore, the ritual was performed in Australia this year instead due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Over 2,900 sheep were sacrificed, with the meat chilled and shipped to Singapore.

On Saturday, about 600kg of korban meat was distributed to beneficiaries of Ang Mo Kio GRC.

Safe distancing measures including temperature taking were in place at Blk 508 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8, where the distribution took place.

First-term MP Nadia Samdin helped to distribute the meat on Saturday, and told The Straits Times she was grateful to Jamiyah Singapore for overseeing the distribution.

"While families from lower-income backgrounds often receive rations of essential dried goods such as rice, noodles and oil - it is important to think about the nutritional needs of our residents, and meat is a welcome protein particularly during these difficult economic times," she added.