A Toronto restaurant that opened in Riverdale last month is organizing a pay-it-forward initiative in collaboration with the community to help feed those in need.

Wanas Shawarma on Danforth Avenue is a Syrian restaurant that opened on December 1 and serves Middle Eastern eats, like shawarma wraps and platters (as the name suggests).

Owners Wala Elya and Anas Rizk — whom the restaurant is named after — started the initiative around Christmastime last month

Customers could come in and purchase a meal for those who couldn't afford one, then the staff would post the receipts of the pre-purchased meals on the restaurant window for people in need.

"We wanted to donate the meals from ourselves, about two or three meals a day," Elyas says. "But what happened is that we were so busy when we opened during the first three weeks."

It wasn't until a customer came in around late December, asking if they could purchase a meal in advance for those in need, that they got the push they needed to start the initiative.

"We already had that idea in mind, so the next day we posted the receipts on our window," Elyas says.

The reaction from the neighbourhood was immediate, with people coming in almost every day to donate a meal.

"We didn't ask people to come buy a meal. But with what's happening right now, all the meals are donated by customers, by people who are just passing by," she says. "They don't even want to buy from us — they just want to donate them."

Elyas estimates an average of four people coming in to pre-purchase a meal every day since it began back in December. Sometimes as many as 10 people have bought the meals for others in a day.

The best part for the owners, Elyas says, is when people who need the food are able to get some at the restaurant. They come from all walks of life, she says, with some of them sleeping on the street or in a nearby church.

Three weeks later, it's still a pleasant surprise for the owners to see the community so involved in giving back to others with their meals.

"This area is wow! Amazing," Elyas says. "I hope this will stay for as long as we're here."