February is usually the toughest month. The winter holidays are over and the generosity that surrounds them has faded. Spring is still weeks away. Heating costs have been running since November. Families who entered winter with thin reserves are often running out by February, and the gap between what they need and what they have is widest right now.

KASA’s February food distribution targets this specific moment. We scale up our regular aid operations and try to reach families who may not have needed help earlier in the winter but are struggling now. The distribution includes staple foods — rice, flour, oil, canned goods — as well as fresh produce where logistics allow. We also try to include items specific to the families we are serving: the particular brand of tea that an elderly couple prefers, the halal meat that a family needs for their diet.

The February distribution depends on the same volunteer network that runs KASA’s other aid programs, plus additional volunteers who step up specifically for this campaign. Each year, the community response to our call for volunteers and donations for February is one of the things that reminds us why we do this work. People want to help. They just need to know where to direct that impulse.