Our foundation is marking World Food Day and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 16–17 with a special food distribution. At our permanent distribution point on Blaha Lujza Square, in addition to the daily menu, we serve foods that are considered special by our recipients. These include rye bread, fruit, fruit juice, nuts, and so on. Our goal in distributing food is not merely to sustain the lives of hungry people, but also to ensure that what they receive from us maintains their health, both physically and mentally. A healthy lifestyle is the foundation not only of physical well-being but also of mental and spiritual health.

With our special meal delivery service, the In addition to poverty and hunger, we would like to draw attention to malnutrition, or what is known as “qualitative hunger”. We believe that access to a healthy diet is, of course, not solely dependent on income, but this issue is clearly most pronounced among the most vulnerable segments of the poor. Current food prices do not allow low-income families or those living on welfare and benefits to spend enough money on foods that contain essential nutrients —such as whole-grain products, cheeses, oilseeds, and fruits. Without these, their diet becomes unbalanced, their health deteriorates, and consequently their ability to work is compromised, which jeopardizes the family’s livelihood and, ultimately, its very survival.

Nothing proves more clearly that healthy eating does not depend solely on income than the fact that there are countless undernourished people even in developed countries. Even in the wealthiest countries, people do not live healthier lives; here, due to unhealthy lifestyles and dietary trends, “quality hunger” causes at least as much damage to public health as wars do. We believe that giving up meat and prioritizing high-quality foods is the only recommended diet for our bodies and the Earth, as well as from an ethical standpoint.