April 23, 2020
Assalamu Alaikum Dear Muslim Community Members and Ramadan Mubarak
We hope that everyone has continued to be safe and healthy and remained positive to work together to get through this challenging and unique time.
The leaders of the Muslim Community have united together to get this message out to you regarding the general guidelines to counter the spreading of COVID-19 during the holy month of Ramadan and beyond.
As many of you have learned that Governor Evers has extended the Safe-At-Home orders through May 25th. Consistent with these orders we are proud and appreciative of our community’s commitment to these guidelines. Your role and our role to prevent the spread of disease is both a religious and a civil responsibility and the only way to achieve that is through collaboration and coordination. We would like to remind you that our faith clearly mandates that preservation of life must take precedence over religious services.
Towards that end, we agreed to the following;
- We will continue our policy to keep the Masajid closed to all congregational activities.
- We will suspend group prayers, group iftars and other Ramadan activities.
- We urge you to adhere to the social distancing guidelines and the Stay-At-Home rules and orders. We also urge you to keep your interaction with your household members only. No iftar invitations and no gatherings at home with non-household members.
- Your respective Masjid will use virtual learning and online donation facilities and contact you through phone and internet.
- We expect to resume services when the order is lifted, and we will update you accordingly.
We ask Allah (SW) to lift this pandemic from his servants and from all of humanity. Amen.
Signed
Driss Akwan Abdiwahid Said Arab Ibrahim Saeed
Attachments
COVID-19 FOOD ACCESS RESOURCES and ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
Weekly Food Distribution and Ramadan Food Packages
The Islamic Center of Madison (21 N Orchard Street, Madison, WI 53715). For more information call or text the Center’s phone number (608) 251-9851. This is a curbside pickup or doorstep delivery service.
Coronavirus Assistance Program
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MYKEwBf-JbYWN99o13lLyzdvScNxESR_/view?usp=sharing
Emergency Food
Individuals with limited or no income can dial 2-1-1 from any phone to identify the nearby emergency food options. Most food pantries in Dane County have now switched to curbside or drive-thru pickup to minimize points of contact between volunteers, staff, and shoppers.
Nutrition Assistance Programs –Food Share and WIC
Individuals with limited means may qualify for supplemental nutrition assistance from the federal government. These programs will provide benefits that can be spent like cash at grocery retailers. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as FoodShare in Wisconsin) benefits can be applied for at https://access.wisconsin.gov/access/Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits for pregnant or postpartum women and children under age 5 can be applied for at https://www.publichealthmdc.com/health-services/women-infants-children-wic-program/pre-qualification-formFoodShare and Grocery Delivery SNAP/FoodShare benefits on an Electronic Benefits Transfer(EBT) card cannot be processed online, so the availability of services to accept benefits during the transaction will vary. The following grocers have confirmed that they provide options for FoodShare participants to use online delivery:Fresh Madison MarketMetcalfe’sWilly Street Co-op.
FoodShare benefits cannot be used to pay for the delivery fees a shopper may incur. These fees will need to be paid using either a debit or credit card. WIC benefits are not able to be used for delivered products at this time.
Assigning a proxy or secondary user to your FoodShare account.
Households that are unable to access grocery outlets to use their FoodShare benefits have the ability to have someone shop for them by adding an Authorized Buyer or Alternate Payee to their account. An Authorized Buyer is added to a Foodshare account and both parties receive EBT cards for the same account. An Alternate Payee receives a card on behalf of the account holder.
FoodShare users can request an authorized buyer or alternate payee be added to their account by completing the following form:Add or Remove an Authorized Buyer or Alternate Payee for FoodShare. Benefits Available in English, Hmong, Spanish, and Russian.
Once the form is received and entered by Dane County Department of Human Services, the card issuing agency will send the card to the appropriate individuals. This process may take 5-7 days. It is important to know that any cards issued remain active unless the client contacts the Dane County Department of Human Services and completes and submits the form to remove the client. It also remains active if the case closes and the client reapplies in the future.
Emergency Coronavirus SNAP benefits
As part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the federal government has authorized additional SNAP/FoodShare benefits be issued to some families .If you are receiving less than the maximum SNAP benefit for your household, your benefits will be increased to the maximum for your household size in March and April. If you already receive the maximum benefit, you will not receive additional benefits.
FOOD RESOURCES DURING COVID-19
· City of Madison – Food Resources Webpage
o Has information on different community resources to connect with food and meal sites (and other resources through 211)
o URL: https://www.cityofmadison.com/health-safety/coronavirus/food-resources
· COVID-19 Food Access Resources – Public Health Madison and Dane Co/UW-Madison Extension PDF (Attached)
o Developed by Public Health and offers resources on emergency food provisions, food delivery options, and how to connect with nutrition assistance programs
o URL: https://www.publichealthmdc.com/documents/2020-04-06_COVID-19_Food_Access.pdf
GENERAL RESOURCES DURING COVID-19
· Madison Resources for Impacts of COVID-19
o URL: http://www.madisoncovid.com/
o This guide is a more general guide that has resources for many different needs including:
§ Emergency Financial Resources
§ Baby, Pet, Hygiene, and Home Care Resources