Solidaritas Makmeugang Ramadhan: Program Berbagi Rendang dan Madu ISEI–Rumah Amal USK untuk Masyarakat Terdampak Banjir di Aceh Utara

Abstract

Floods that struck North Aceh Regency between late 2024 and early 2025 significantly disrupted the socio-economic conditions of local communities and reduced their capacity to meet basic needs, particularly food security. Many households lost their homes, suffered damage to productive assets, and had difficulty accessing food supplies and cooking facilities. Under such circumstances, there is an urgent need for food assistance that is rapid, practical, nutritious, easy to distribute, and culturally acceptable to the affected communities. This community service program aimed to alleviate the burden of flood-affected communities through the Rendang and Honey Sharing Program, organized by the Indonesian Association of Economists (ISEI) in collaboration with Rumah Amal Universitas Syiah Kuala (USK). The program was implemented from 15–17 February 2025 in Langkahan, Muara Batu, and Sawang Subdistricts, North Aceh Regency. A participatory approach was employed, encompassing needs assessment, fundraising, preparation and packaging of aid, distribution, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. The assistance distributed consisted of 223 packages of rendang, 231 bottles of honey, and children's snacks, with a total donation value of approximately IDR 30 million. The results indicate that ready-to-eat food assistance based on local wisdom effectively addressed the urgent food needs of flood-affected communities in a timely and targeted manner. Beyond meeting immediate nutritional needs, the program strengthened social solidarity, encouraged community participation in humanitarian activities, and revitalized the values of Meugang, a traditional Acehnese practice of sharing food before Ramadan. The findings demonstrate that collaboration among professional organizations, university-based philanthropic institutions, volunteers, and local communities can serve as an effective, sustainable, and culturally grounded model of community service for supporting post-disaster recovery and social resilience.