Improvising Help
On the first day of the 2024 escalation of the war, there was no formal humanitarian aid plan at Beirut’s Raseef restaurant, no carefully designed response strategy, no large-scale coordination efforts. Instead, there were people arriving there, simply ready to help.
“That day, we just made labneh sandwiches for dinner,” says Heba Annan, who works at Raseef and participated in the relief efforts, “and the next day, we kickstarted the initiative.”
Raseef’s improvised response quickly turned into one of many community-lead relief efforts supporting displaced families across Beirut, distributing around 55,000 meals in 2024 alone.
“In 2025, we started with hot meals, only food,” Annan shares. “Then eventually, we ended up providing anything. Moune, pillows, supplies. People knew that whatever they needed, we could help.”
Recurrent Relief Efforts
However, Raseef’s work did not begin in 2024 alone. The restaurant has had a history of being involved in relief efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut Port explosion. Today, their relief efforts specifically target displaced families outside official shelters: families in apartments, on the streets, or in temporary arrangements across Beirut, including Hamra, Ramlet El Bayda, and Biel.
According to Annan, most organizations focus on providing aid to communities in shelters, creating a gap, and leaving individuals behind in different living arrangements. Raseef therefore decided to attempt to fill the gaps left behind.
Behind The Scenes
The success of their operation depends heavily on the volunteers, who gather from morning until night to chop vegetables, pack meals, and organize donations. According to Annan, their initiative expanded mainly through personal networks: employees contacted their friends and family members, who in turn reached out to others to ask for help. Volunteers also joined through Instagram posts and word of mouth.
“There is a huge role for the volunteers. The responsibility is not just on a few people, but on all of us.” Inside the kitchen, volunteering blends into daily life: Annan described volunteers cleaning vegetables while simultaneously joining online meetings and getting tasks done for work, spending entire days in Raseef not only to help but to feel this sense of community that Raseef was already known for and kept on growing. Annan says, “we created a community where people want to be here.”
The efforts also heavily relied on the owners and the kitchen staff of Raseef, who worked hours behind the scenes to sustain the initiative. While volunteers were essential for preparing, packing, and distribution, the owners provided the organization and expertise needed to keep operations running smoothly.
Beyond The Emergency Period
The 2026 aid initiative is proceeding smoothly as a result of the experience acquired through the 2024 escalation. Unlike the uncertainty of 2024, organizers are now more certain of their work: they know which meals can be prepared quickly, which containers work best, how to efficiently pack food, and how to coordinate more effectively. “We have techniques and speed for closing boxes, packing meals and sandwiches. Overall, we have more experience.”
Unfortunately, experience does not eliminate challenges: one of the biggest current difficulties for this and many other aid initiatives are inconsistent donations. Public solidarity surged during the earlier crisis, but there is an increase in donor fatigue noted by most humanitarian relief teams, making it increasingly difficult to provide consistent and sustainable support over longer periods of time.
Despite the significant challenge of financial strain and exhaustion, the Raseef initiative continues operating, distributing around 600 meals a day to families all over Beirut. Annan says the reason they keep going is because “when people are depending on you, there is nothing else you can do. You cannot just stop.”
How To Help
If you wish to help, you can drop off in-kind or cash donations directly at Raseef restaurant or send monetary donations via Whish and Western Union to +961 76 108411. For more information, please contact Raseef through email: info@raseef-beirut.com or call at +961 1 340081.
Clara Ghorayeb
Clara Ghorayeb earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the American University of Beirut (AUB), with a minor in Gender Studies. Her interests include structural inequalities, collective care, and social issues in Lebanon and the broader region. She has also been involved in volunteer and activist initiatives focused on social and humanitarian issues.