The Food for Life Foundation’s food assistance program will open its fifth soup kitchen in Budapest, in the 14th district, in November, where it will now provide daily meals for an additional 300 people in need.

 The fifth location

This will be the fifth food distribution site in the capital for our food assistance program, which has been running for two decades, including the one in Zugló. The operation of the Zugló soup kitchen is modeled after our Foundation’s „family assistance program,” —a model we first launched in Óbuda 10 years ago and, thanks to our positive experiences, have since introduced in other districts and cities as well.

1,800 meals a day

We currently operate similar soup kitchens at two locations in Óbuda and in the 7th District. In addition, public food distribution takes place every weekday on the edge of Városliget, at the intersection of Ajtósi Dürer sor and Dózsa György út, so we distribute a total of 1,800 meals daily in the capital alone. We also operate locations in Eger, Marcali, Debrecen, and Pécs on a daily or weekly basis.

Collaboration with District Family Support Workers

A distinctive feature of the program is that at the district distribution centers, we primarily serve disadvantaged individuals who are personally notified of this opportunity by the local family assistance service. In this way, the Food for Life Program becomes an integral part of the local social welfare system and, as part of the care program, helps people who have been marginalized by society. Family support service caseworkers are the ones who best understand the needs of the population in need; they are best able to assess exactly what kind of service will provide a solution for someone’s deteriorated or worsening condition.

At the district food distribution sites, our staff and volunteers serve fresh, hot lunches at noon. We provide the meals to go, portioning them into food containers and packaging fresh baked goods, along with fruit, yogurt, or other treats donated to our organization.

The purpose of the program is:

1. How so that families can have fresh, hot, healthy meals every day, are nutritious, and rich in protein, fiber, and vitamins. As part of our program, we serve vegetarian one-dish meals that are enjoyed by both seniors and young children.
2. How for the residents to take their lunch home and eat it there with their families, as this has a powerful ability to build family bonds. According to the latest research, in addition to the quality of the food consumed, the most important factor in a happy, fulfilling life is sharing meals rich in conversation, which helps bring even families in crisis closer together. Retirees and single people who have no one to keep them company at home can at least become part of a community during meal distribution. Our meal distributors take care to make the daily lives of lonely people more bearable with kindness and a kind word.
3. So that those in need living in the districts to be able to access nutritious food with as little travel as possible, thereby saving time and money, and help them get their lives back on track, step by step.

At the Zugló community kitchen, we provide hot lunches for 300 people daily, Monday through Friday. The grand opening of the new location will take place on November 8 at 12:00 p.m. Gergely Karácsony, mayor of Zugló, will attend the event and give a short speech.