On May 28, the Krishna Children’s Day food distribution will take place once again in front of the Village Hall. The “Food for Life” team will be there to welcome families in need with lunch, food packages, and children’s activities!
The past few years have mostly been marked by tension, fear, and anxiety due to the pandemic, which have now been replaced by the war crisis unfolding in our neighborhood. As a result of these crises, food prices have skyrocketed, not to mention housing and rent prices. Even adults are worn down by all these dramatic life situations and uncertainties, but, that this makes it impossible for children in needy families to have a future and to be happy—a situation that is simply unacceptable.
The Krishna devotees have been active in our country for 30 years. They have been present in Óbuda for 15 years, and their cultural center also serves as a venue for the “Food for Life” Foundation’s food distribution program. The cultural center is open to visitors year-round, and their Sunday public programs are a real treat. The guiding principle of their food distribution efforts is that everyone should start caring for others in their own community—which is why they serve hot lunches to those in need in the district at two locations every weekday., in Kaszásdűlő and Békásmegyer.
The Children’s Day food distribution has become a long-standing tradition, as it has been held since 2012. On the last Saturday in May, 800 people will once again be treated to lunch, with fresh baked goods and lemonade rounding out the delicious meal. Those attending—who are families registered with the district family assistance service—will also be able to take home a generous package of non-perishable food items. For the little ones, the package will also include festive treats, snacks, and chocolate.
There will also be special activities for kids! There will be a lángos stand, face painting and glitter painting, balloon twisting, and a bounce house—and kids can even dress up as firefighters and climb into a real fire truck. Participation is, of course, free, and unlike social assistance programs, the children’s activities are open to everyone in the parking lot in front of the Village Hall.
Through their „Food for Life” program, the Krishna devotees hope to bring smiles to children’s faces. “The atmosphere at home is completely different in a family that can afford everything they need compared to one where deprivation is a constant reality. Parents are under psychological stress, and children grow up feeling deprived and excluded. Through our food distributions, we want to provide families with a stable foundation for their daily lives. We also make sure that our meals are nutritious, delicious, and healthy. To celebrate Children’s Day, plenty of treats and exciting activities will await those who come. “These children are the teachers, salespeople, auto mechanics, doctors, or even food distributors of the future; what we give them now, they will return to the world as care and compassion,” says Attila Szanyi-Karl, the foundation’s director.
Dr. László Kiss, the district mayor, will be present at the food distribution event and will personally assist in handing out the food.
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In recent years, Krishna devotees have focused on helping families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as refugees from Ukraine. They have prepared 20,000 meals since the war began, while also continuing their daily food distributions, as the number of people in need has not decreased in our country either. They distribute 2,000 hot meals daily, amounting to half a million meals annually. Hundreds of metric tons of non-perishable food have been delivered to disadvantaged rural villages and, due to the escalating crisis in Ukraine, across the border as well. Using the non-perishable food received in this way, the Ukrainian “Food for Life” team provides meals to trapped residents in bunkers, shelters, and subway tunnels.
You can also support their program with 1% contributions and donations.