Article Text

Two Vienna students have created a grassroots food-aid initiative to purchase and distribute groceries to families in Cuba, saying they hope to expand the effort to reach 100 people.

Safiya Farooqui, identified as an 11-year-old Vienna middle school student, and her sister, Suraiya Farooqui, identified as a 17-year-old Vienna high school student, founded Plates Without Politics after initially seeking to help their extended family in Cuba.

The initiative raises money and uses donations to buy nonperishable food through Supermarket23 rather than sending cash directly to Cuba. According to the sisters, trusted family contacts distribute the groceries to elderly or infirm people and to families with children who lack outside support.

As of July 15, 2026, the initiative reported raising more than $4,000 and supplying food to 63 people. The sisters said their goal is to feed 100 people. “Our goal is to feed 100,” they said.

The sisters estimated that $60 could provide food for one person for one month. Their website, plateswithoutpolitics.org, offered Venmo, PayPal and Zelle as ways to contribute. The website also said the founders personally cover platform service fees so public donations can pay for groceries.

Suraiya handles strategic expansion and logistics, while Safiya tracks donations and assists with community communications. The sisters said they were seeking support from regional organizations, churches, mosques, synagogues and Latino community organizations.

The initiative’s work is motivated in part by the sisters’ accounts of shortages affecting people in Cuba. The source article presented accounts from residents of La Lisa and Bauta describing shortages of water, electricity, food and transportation, as well as reliance on charcoal or firewood during power outages.

“Even individuals who have jobs are struggling because food and basic resources are inaccessible,” Suraiya said. Safiya added, “By helping them, it just brings me happiness.”

The fundraising and recipient totals were reported by the initiative and were not independently documented in the supplied material. The $60 monthly estimate and the website’s statement about platform fees were also attributed to the initiative and not independently substantiated.