Needy people will be served free warm food by Lefkoşa Municipality when it opens a “Sharing Kitchen” in the city’s Bandabulya area later this month.
The kitchen will serve meals to those who cannot afford to buy their own, including refugees currently in the integration process. Meals will also be taken to the disabled and others unable to visit the kitchen due to special needs or being elderly.
Some 65 people have already been identified as being in need of free food, although in the first stage of the project the municipality plans to serve 75 increasing to 150 later.
The kitchen will open on weekdays and possibly also on Saturdays, depending on demand, and is to be run by three people.
A special identity card will be given to those entitled to the service because they live below the “poverty line” and they will have to produce the card when they visit for meals.
The municipality says it will ensure high health, cleaning and hygiene standards, with food being prepared on a daily basis under the supervision of a nutritionist.
Speaking of the kitchen initiative, Lefkoşa Mayor Mehmet Harmanc said: “I do not recall a similar project being undertaken in our country and we are very excited about it.
“We must move forward without forgetting the social aspects of municipal services. We are here for people who have put labour into this country, not only for themselves. We are trying to build our politics by taking action.”
To volunteer for work at the kitchen, call (0392) 228 5221.
By Yasemin Gulpinar for Cyprus Today
