Skip to content
Register for the NYC Quakers Retreat, March 21 at 15th Street Meeting
NYC Quakers
Friends

An Iftar with Brooklyn Frontiers and Friends

Brooklyn Meeting Friends joined a community iftar - a dinner breaking the Ramadan fast - at Brooklyn Frontiers High School on Monday, March 16.

Selfie of Ted Bongiovanni and the Friends table at the Brooklyn Frontiers High School community iftar on March 16, 2026.
March 19th, 2026
  • Brooklyn Frontiers High School principal Alona Cohen uncovers trays of food brought over from Brooklyn Meeting's kitchen for a community iftar on March 16, 2026.
  • At an iftar at Brooklyn Frontiers High School on March 16, 2026 with, L to R, August G., Linda G., Sarah W., Ted B., and Ted E., with school principal Alona Cohen in the front right.
  • Some of the trays of food served at the Brooklyn Frontiers High School community iftar on March 16, 2026.
  • Selfie of Ted Bongiovanni and the Friends table at the Brooklyn Frontiers High School community iftar on March 16, 2026.

On Monday, March 16, Friends enjoyed a community iftar (a feast that breaks the daily fast during Ramadan) with the community at Brooklyn Frontiers high school. 

Brooklyn Meeting's kitchen has hosted Frontiers high school's cooking classes for about a year. The classes teach the students how to cook and how to work in a kitchen. Many of Brooklyn Frontiers students are immigrants; some are Muslim, and some live apart from their families. This year, for the first time, a group of Frontier students held an iftar (a feast to break the daily fast during Ramadan) for the entire school community. The partnership with Brooklyn Meeting made this possible — a tangible fruit from seeds planted over a year ago. 

The school's principal, Alona Cohen, invited Friends from Brooklyn Meeting and the New York Quarter to attend the dinner. Five Friends, Ted B., Ted E., Linda G., August G., and Sarah W., enjoyed the joyful, bountiful, and delicious meal with Frontiers students, staff and families. See photos above!

The gymnasium of the school was decorated festively and was full of tables and chairs, students and staff and friends, and food. So much food! Students and staff from Frontiers had been preparing food in Brooklyn Meeting's kitchen from 8:00 am until the meal began at 7:00 pm. Alona told us that at least 80% of the food served at the iftar had been made at Brooklyn Meeting that day.; the rest were homemade dishes contributed by community members. The food included dates, a traditional treat to break the fast; fresh bread, hummus and salads; and many West Indian dishes like curried goat, rice and peas, fried plantains, baked chicken, steamed cabbage, and more. The food was delicious, made and consumed with love. 

The Friends present enjoyed the food and the warm company. We got to meet the principal, Alona Cohen, and talked about our partnership and possible future gatherings and other projects. I feel lucky and proud that we can offer our meetinghouse's space to the close-knit and supportive school community next door. — Sarah Way

News