The influencer who has amassed huge following by creating ENORMOUS meals for the hungry in response to social media celebrities bragging of their wasteful lifestyle

Daily Mail​

21 hours ago

A Lebanese influencer has gone viral for sharing videos of herself cooking enormous meals and then feeding them to the hungry in response to wasteful social media stars.
Surthany Hejeij, 33, has racked up 15.7 million followers on Instagram thanks to her engaging videos, which always start with a clip of an internet celebrity throwing away food.
She then cuts the video with footage of children facing poverty, before she is shown cooking up meals in poor communities and serving them up to children and their families.
In one clip that has racked up 12.1 million views on Instagram, Ms Hejeij 's video shows a man dumping a bucket-load of rice into a bin.
The video is then cut with a clip of Ms Hejeij smiling in her kitchen as she shows the camera a massive tray of ground beef.
Ms Hejeij then appears outdoors next to a fire pit with her ingredients, where she begins to cook up a meal in a large pot.
The glamorous influencer is shown stirring, seasoning and chopping her food as she is joined by a group of children.
Once the meal is ready, she serves it up to dozens of young children, who are shown lining up as they wait for their dinner from the influencer.
Her videos have resonated with millions of viewers, and several social media users have praised Ms Hejeij for her charitable work and her efforts to raise awareness over poverty and food waste.
'You are amazing...God bless you', one follower wrote.
Another said: 'You are [an] amazing person with a good heart'.
While some users criticised the influencer for sharing her charitable work for 'clout' and 'clicks', several others came to Ms Hejeij's defence.
'She's doing this to spread awareness and to also invite others to donate and participate.
'Kids are being fed and that's all that should matter.'
Another follower argued: 'Even if she is doing it for clout, she [is] still spreading awareness and even if it is for money, she's obviously using this money for something good, by feeding the poor.
'I think she's awesome'.
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A post shared by Surthany Hejeij (@surthycooks)
The influencer's attempt to raise awareness over food waste and poverty comes after it was revealed that the world wasted an estimated 19 percent of food produced globally in 2022, according to a United Nations report last year.
Most of the waste — 60 percent — came in households.
Her videos also come at a time when 783 million people around the world face chronic hunger and many places are facing deepening food crises.
The Israel-Hamas war and violence in Haiti have worsened the crisis, with experts saying that famine is imminent in northern Gaza and approaching in Haiti.