Christmas Love Feast: Thousands of families are relying on assistance during these times of crisis
Food for Life Hungary, the humanitarian aid arm of the Krishna-conscious believers, has been organizing daily food distribution events in Hungary for the past thirty years. Although the current difficult economic situation has affected the contents of the aid packages and the number of portions distributed, the Hare Krishnas are not giving up and will organize the Grand Christmas Love Feast this holiday season as well.
Every charity and social care organization is facing challenges posed by the energy crisis and food inflation. According to a report by the National Bank of Hungary, price increases for food items have not yet peaked. Aid organizations are struggling because, although people continue to want to donate, their capacity is dwindling. This is also evident from the results of the largest food drive in Hungary. Those who continue to donate despite the difficulties deserve the utmost respect.
„The Christmas Love Feast carries a message. Stopping it would mean giving in to the difficulties and abandoning our duty. Is there a crisis? Well, that’s just one more reason to find a way to carry on with the festive distribution against all odds!”– says Attila Szanyi-Karl, Bhakta Vatsala das, Hare Krishna pastor and chairman of the Food for Life Foundation.
The food distribution organization distributes 3,000 meals daily to needy large families, the elderly, the unemployed, and the sick in Hungary. The need is going to grow. An increasing number of people in line are those who still have an income and can still pay their bills, but after paying for utilities, medicine, and rent, they are left without the means to buy enough food for their families.
The Food for Life program played an important role during the COVID-19 pandemic in helping people who suddenly lost their livelihoods, and now, amid the conflict in Ukraine, it has played a key role in feeding refugees from Ukraine. They also support the Hare Krishnas’ food program in Ukraine by sending food supplies to regions of Ukraine bordering Hungary, from where devotees then distribute the cooking ingredients to other parts of Ukraine.
Starting in the fall of 2022, the energy and food crises began to take their toll. Rising prices pose a huge challenge for aid organizations. For example, Food for Life alone has had to pay an additional 5 million HUF just for gasoline for its trucks. However, it is impossible to save food from being discarded and distribute prepared meals without trucks. Although the foundation cooks for people in need in its large-scale kitchen, it cannot take advantage of the price caps reserved for individual citizens; instead, it must pay the inflated prices for the flour and cooking oil it uses. Some ingredients have seen price increases of over 100 percent in recent months. Sour cream, which is an important ingredient in Hungarian-style stews, has now become a luxury and can only be used thanks to the generosity of donors. It should also be noted that some companies that used to assist FFL in the past have gone out of business due to the crisis and can no longer support food distribution.
Since the foundation provides a public service, it is eligible for a government subsidy of HUF 272 per serving. Even in a large, efficient kitchen, the ingredients for a single serving of cooked food cost at least twice that amount—HUF 550–600. The accompaniments to the cooked meal—such as baked goods, raw vegetables, fruit, and the like—come from supermarkets, where items nearing the end of their shelf life are donated to charities. This food rescue is also important from an environmental perspective; however, sorting, transporting, and storing these items requires additional resources. The charity must find the means to purchase the cooking ingredients that go into the Christmas aid package itself. In this regard, the funds derived from the 1 percent allocation of personal income tax play a key role.
„We had to completely rethink the distribution of food parcels during the holiday season. We can only purchase the so-called ”capped-price’ ingredients at full market price, so this year we will include other useful and healthy items in the parcels. We are very grateful to some of our donors who provide large quantities of basic ingredients or delicacies. Financial contributions are also very helpful!” – says the foundation’s chairman.
This year's special food distribution events will take place on December 3 in Óbuda, December 17 in Eger, and December 24 through 26 in Népliget, Budapest. In total, we will distribute approximately 6,000 servings of cooked food and 4,500 food packages to those in need.
„We will once again spend our time at Christmas in the People’s Wood (Népliget) near the Planetarium building. Since the long-distance bus terminal is nearby, this location makes our distribution easily accessible even to those in need who are coming from outside Budapest,” emphasizes Péterné Szilaj, Gandharvika Prema, the spokesperson for the Krishna-conscious believers. „We understand from the many messages asking for help that there is a surge in the number of people who still have some means of basic subsistence but need our assistance, especially in rural areas. For example, our branch in Eger is receiving a flood of people asking for aid. One must urgently rise above any sense of shame. Natural shame should be quickly set aside when trouble comes, and one should immediately contact aid organizations or go to a designated contact point. In such a crisis, only large-scale solidarity can help. And if you meet someone who needs help, please direct them to our Christmas food distribution so that they know they can rely on us this year, just as they always have.”
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We know that no matter how wonderful it feels, helping others requires some sacrifice. Let us remember that the cost of a family trip to the movies could help a family of four during the Christmas season. Our philosophy is rooted in an ancient Hungarian saying: ”Where two can eat their fill, a third can eat as well.”