Dubai delivers fresh dates to over 5,000 families this harvest season

The CDA ran the program with the UAE Food Bank, Dubai Municipality, and the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center. About 1,000 Emirati volunteers helped collect and hand out the dates. Volunteers visited five majlis over five days: Umm Suqeim on 20 July, Nad Al Sheba on 21 July, Al Warqa on 22 July, Al Barsha on 23 July, and Al Khawaneej on 24 July.

The program falls during Al Qayz, the traditional summer date harvest season, when palm groves across the UAE ripen one after another. Organizers say it turns that seasonal abundance into food security support. It also aims to cut farm waste and support the emirate's Dubai Social Agenda 33 goals.

Hessa bint Essa Buhumaid, director general of the CDA, said the community majlis network is what gives the program its reach. She said the majalis are the main way the CDA gets fresh dates to families, while also reinforcing a sense of national identity. She added that the authority welcomed more government partners joining in this year.

Eng. Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita, Dubai Municipality's director general and the UAE Food Bank's vice chairman, called the program a model for teamwork across sectors. He said it turns a seasonal farm harvest into a lasting benefit for the community, according to Emirates 24|7. Bin Ghalita said the effort cuts food waste, supports national farms, and strengthens food security across the emirate, the outlet reported. He added that the campaign reflects Dubai's role as a model for sustainability and humanitarian work, Emirates 24|7 reported.

Officials said related activities will continue through the rest of the date season. These include awareness programs on the cultural importance of the date palm, Emirates 24|7 reported. The outlet said the campaign also supports the local economy and encourages volunteering, spreading the harvest's benefits further into the community.

Rutab's harvest window typically runs from June through August, according to Gulf News. That gives UAE farms just a few weeks each year to bring the fresh fruit to market before it dries out. Popular varieties include Khalas, known for a rich, caramel-like flavor, and Barhi, often called one of the sweetest dates around. Gulf News also lists Khenaizi, known for its reddish-brown color and firmer bite, as a seasonal favorite.

Kharayef Al Rutab is Dubai's community-facing counterpart to the Dubai Date Festival. That's a separate, competition-driven event held every year at Qalaat Al Rimal, where growers compete for prizes instead of handing produce directly to residents. Sheikh Hamdan separately ordered a Dh1 million grant for that festival's participants in late July. That grant was a distinct announcement from the CDA's family-distribution program.

💬 Did your family collect a box of rutab from one of Dubai's community majlis this summer? Tell us which majlis and how the harvest compared to years past.