KITCHENER – Volunteers from the Muslim Student Association at Conestoga College in Ontario, Canada, packed and handed out 265 paper bags of food to homeless people in Kitchener and Cambridge on Saturday to share the joy of Ramadan.

“This is the spirit of Ramadan. It’s about giving,” Mesto, the president of the association told The Record.

The Muslim students dropped off the food bags to shelters and then stood in front of Kitchener City Hall at midday to hand them out to needy.

All the bags were quickly distributed, with several people waiting nearby for one.

This wasn’t the sole event for the association, as the group has hosted several previous activities during the holy month of fasting, including a charity iftar to support refugees.

Mature student Niveen Shrem brought along her children to help. “It’s good for them to see what other people’s life is like. Islamic Shari`ah rewards us for making people happy,” she explained.

The initiative of the association was organized in cooperation with three sponsors in Cambridge: Mozy’s Shawarma, the Islamic Centre of Cambridge, and Shaan Foods.

The majority of Canadian Muslims live in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

According to the 2011 National Household Survey, there were 424,925 Muslims living in the Greater Toronto Area, the capital of Ontario; equaling 7.7% of the total metropolitan population.

According to Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey, there were 1,053,945 Muslims in Canada, or about 3.2% of the population, making Islam the second largest religion in the country after Christianity.