A restaurant in Longsight is providing homeless people with a meal to keep them warm during the winter months.
A couple of weeks ago, bosses at Sanam Restaurant on Stockport Road put up a sign saying they would provide free meals to homeless people every evening before closing.
For the restaurant manager, it's something he's been doing for a while now.
“I would often see people outside in the streets and I would invite them in for some food,” Muhammad Shafiq told the Manchester Evening News.
“First we delivered food to people in the community who needed it, but now we have decided to create food parcels for people to come and collect.”
The care packages of food, often containing a vegetarian or meat curry, rice, naan bread and a bottle of water, are packaged up for homeless people to take away between 11 - 11.30pm every evening.
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While the idea started out as a trial run, the restaurant and confectionery shop have no plans of stopping anytime soon.
“It’s something we’re going to continue doing because there has been so much demand for it and we see more people come each day,” Muhammad said.
“Every day now, we will make extra meals for people to cater for demand. We are going to continue this small effort for the community.”
Muhammad says that anywhere between 10 to 25 people will collect a food package every evening.
On social media, people said the idea was "very thoughtful and kind" and a "lovely thing to do".
Depending on how well the idea works in Longsight, Muhammad says it could be something that is rolled out throughout the other Sanam branches in Rusholme, Cheetham Hill, and Rochdale.
The Rusholme branch of Sanam, founded in the 60s by Haji Abdul Ghafoor Akhtar, is one of the oldest surviving curry houses in the Curry Mile.
