I

t was late on a Saturday afternoon, and a group of young Christians was busy selling packages of rice and Acehnese chicken curry to passersby on Jl. Ayahanda in Medan, North Sumatra.

Soon, though, the teenagers'€™ supplies were exhausted, such was the demand for the packaged meals sold at the low price of Rp 1,000 (7 US cents) each.

'€œPraise God! Rice and chicken curry normally costs Rp 10,000 per portion. Today, I can save my money for breaking the fast,'€ said Yanti, one of the buyers.

The cheap meal program, held once a week during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadhan, is organized by members of the Bethany Cornerstone Church congregation.

Program coordinator Bobby Hermawan said the program, which was introduced last year, was conducted in parts of the city where locals were considered in need of low-cost meals. The locations include Jl. Ayahanda, Jl. Darussalam, Jl. Dr Mansyur and Jl. Karya.

'€œThese are the areas where dormitories and boarding houses for students and economically challenged families are located,'€ Bobby told The Jakarta Post.

The activity, Bobby said, was conducted on Fridays or Saturdays during Ramadhan. The young volunteers begin selling the food at 4.30 p.m., a few hours before the time for breaking the fast falls.

This year, the group is preparing 200 meals per day, a 100 percent increase from last year.

'€œAs this is a charity program, no one is allowed to buy large numbers of packages. One person is allowed to buy two packages at the maximum, to ensure even distribution,'€ Bobby said.

The cost of preparing the food, he said, was met by funds from collections at the church and members of the group, as well as from a number of Muslim donors.

Despite the low price, the food served was not low quality, Bobby claimed; Saturday'€™s chicken curry, for example, was specially prepared by chef Rachmat Agustiyar from Aceh.

Medan, one of the country'€™s largest cities, is home to 2.1 million people, 67 percent of whom are Muslim, while 20 percent are Christian.

Islamic teachings require every adult Muslim to fast during Ramadhan. During the month, a Muslim is not allowed to eat and drink from dawn until dusk.

Rev. Paulus Widjaya of the Bethany Cornerstone Church expressed hope that the program could be held more frequently next year, with donations expected to increase.

'€œThis is our way of showing the multifaith community that we care,'€ he said.