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The Edmonton Food Bank is rolling in chickpeas after a giant 1.8-tonne bag of the nutritious legume was dropped off at their central warehouse Saturday. It’s a timely donation with Syrian refugees beginning to arrive in the city. Chickpeas, which are rich in protein, are a main staple of the Middle Eastern diet.

Innisfail couple Chris Chivilo and his wife Tracy, who own a pulse-processing facility, made the donation after talks between the Pulse Producers of Alberta and the Islamic Family and Social Services Association (IFSSA), which began partnering with the Edmonton Food Bank three months ago.

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Volunteers with the IFSSA began dividing the large bag into 700 smaller plastic bags, each holding enough chickpeas for a family of four or five to use for a month of food preparation.

“I find it so amazing when other cultures, other people in a lot of different communities help one another,” said Asma Almustopha, one of the volunteers. “I think we should always help one another. It doesn’t matter if we come from a different religion, a different culture, we should be there for one another.” Almustopha was six when she came to Edmonton from Palestine 30 years ago.