prepared a total of 12,750 food boxes for the second batch of Hajj pilgrims transiting in Medina City, Saudi Arabia.
"We have long anticipated the arrival of the second batch pilgrims. They were supposed to arrive in Jeddah, but we were informed that as many as 4,250 of them were coming to Medina," PPIH's consumption service team head, Suviyanto, said in Medina on Friday.
He informed that PPIH immediately prepared kitchens that could cater to the needs of the pilgrims as soon as he received information about their arrival.
He confirmed that the menu for the second batch was similar to the one served to the first batch.
When the second batch arrived, he said, the pilgrims were provided with a welcome menu. The PPIH only served them the welcome menu, breakfast menu, lunch menu, and dinner menu according to their check-in and check-out times, he added.
This is because the second batch arrived in Medina only for transit, unlike regular pilgrims who stay for nine days in the city to perform the Arbain prayer, he added.
Suviyanto explained that the 12,750 food boxes were prepared based on the calculation of the total pilgrims arriving in Medina multiplied by three meal times.
He said that the committee had to contact several kitchens to confirm that they were still operational and ready to serve Hajj pilgrims.
The action was needed since he received information that a number of kitchens had concluded their operational periods and their employees had been stationed in Mecca to provide service assistance.
"We swiftly prepared kitchens that are still ready to cater to the needs of the Hajj pilgrims. We reconfirmed which kitchens still store adequate raw food materials. We also had to make sure that their employees are still ready to cook and distribute the foods," Suviyanto affirmed.
The swift reaction led the committee to find five kitchens in Medina that were ready to serve food and distribute it to pilgrims.
"We have confirmed that five kitchens, namely Baharhar, Andalus, Mezmeri, Noha, and Zidara, are ready to provide services to the second batch of Hajj pilgrims arriving in Medina," he added.
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Translator: Nur Istibsaroh, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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